Message transmission method and device

Abstract

The present application provides a message transmission method and apparatus, wherein the method comprises: sending a first message to a gateway device via a satellite, wherein the first message is a service message for an inbound service; and receiving a second message from the gateway device via the satellite, wherein the second message is a message content sent by a second terminal device to the first terminal device in a cellular system or a satellite communication system. Through the above method, when a terminal device initiates an inbound service, the gateway device can send the second message to the first terminal device via the satellite communication system, thereby enabling the first terminal device that is not connected to the cellular network to receive messages sent by other terminal devices in the satellite communication system, thereby improving communication efficiency and reliability.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the China Patent Office on November 5, 2021, with application number 202111307866.3 and application name “A method for downlink reception of satellite short messages”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0003] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a message transmission method and device. Background Art

[0004] When a natural disaster destroys base stations or leaves users in areas without cellular network coverage (such as deserts or oceans) in need of rescue, finding ways to request help and obtain accurate information about those in need is crucial to their safety. If a terminal device supports cellular mobile communications, but there is no cellular network coverage or the network is damaged by a natural disaster, the terminal device will not be able to send or receive text messages via the cellular network. If the terminal device supports satellite communications, users can send and receive text messages via the satellite communications system.

[0005] Satellite networks offer extensive coverage and can mitigate the impact of natural disasters, effectively addressing the limited coverage of terrestrial networks. For example, if a terminal device supports the BeiDou-3 satellite communication system, it can reach areas without cellular networks and provide satellite short message services. In the absence of a cellular network, users can use the BeiDou-3 satellite communication system for short message communication, such as sending emergency distress messages and receiving rescue messages. Hereinafter, the BeiDou-3 satellite communication system network will be referred to as the BeiDou network.

[0006] However, the network architecture of satellite communication systems differs from that of cellular networks, and unlike cellular networks, they cannot deliver short messages to terminal devices in real time. Users in satellite communication systems must proactively send a query or download message before they can access or download their own short messages. However, users cannot determine when they need to access or download messages, resulting in delayed message delivery.

[0007] In summary, when the cellular mobile network is unavailable, how users can obtain short messages in a timely manner through the satellite communication system is an urgent problem to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0008] The present application provides a message transmission method and apparatus to solve the problem of how to obtain short messages through a satellite communication system.

[0009] In a first aspect, the present application provides a message transmission method, which can be executed by a terminal device, or by a larger device including the terminal device, or by a chip system or other functional module capable of implementing the functions of the terminal device, such as being disposed in the terminal device. The terminal device is, for example, referred to as a first terminal device. The method includes: sending a first message to a gateway device via a satellite, wherein the first message is a service message for an inbound service; and receiving a second message from the gateway device via the satellite, wherein the second message includes the content of a message sent by a second terminal device to the first terminal device in a cellular system or a satellite communication system.

[0010] Through the above method, when the terminal device initiates an inbound service, the gateway device can send a second message to the first terminal device through the satellite communication system, so that the first terminal device that is not connected to the cellular network can also receive messages sent by other terminal devices in the satellite communication system, so that the first terminal device can receive messages in a timely manner, improve communication efficiency, and improve communication reliability.

[0011] In an optional embodiment, before receiving the second message from the gateway device via the satellite, the method further includes: receiving first indication information from the gateway device via the satellite, the first indication information being used to indicate that there are one or more messages to be received by the first terminal device, and the one or more messages include the second message.

[0012] By notifying the first terminal device of the existence of a pending message, the first terminal device can be informed of its pending short message without further query, thus reducing signaling interactions between the first terminal device and the converged short message gateway. Furthermore, the first terminal device can determine whether to receive messages via the satellite communication system based on actual conditions, thus preventing the first terminal device from not receiving messages via the satellite communication system when the battery is low, or when there is no need to receive messages.

[0013] In an optional implementation, the first indication information is also used to indicate an identifier of the second terminal device.

[0014] By indicating the identifier of the second terminal device, the first terminal device can determine the sender of the message, and thus can further determine whether it needs to receive the to-be-received message.

[0015] In an optional implementation, before receiving the second message from the gateway device via the satellite, the method further includes: sending a third message to the gateway device, where the third message is used to request receiving a message from the second terminal device.

[0016] In an optional implementation, the method further includes: sending second indication information to the gateway device via the satellite, where the second indication information is used to indicate a reception result of the second message.

[0017] By sending the second indication information, the gateway device can determine whether the first terminal device successfully receives the second message, thereby improving the reliability of communication.

[0018] In an optional implementation, the method further includes: sending third indication information to the core network device, where the third indication information is used to indicate that the first terminal device supports the satellite communication system short message service.

[0019] By sending the third indication information, the gateway device can determine that the first terminal device supports the short message service of the satellite communication system, so that it can send messages to the first terminal device through the satellite communication system, thereby increasing the efficiency of message reception of the first terminal device supporting the short message service of the satellite communication system in an area without cellular network coverage.

[0020] In an optional implementation, the method further includes: sending location information of the first terminal device to the gateway device.

[0021] By sending location information to the gateway device, the gateway device can determine the area where the first terminal device is located, thereby determining the corresponding satellite and beam, thereby improving message transmission efficiency.

[0022] In a second aspect, a message transmission method is provided, which can be executed by a gateway device, or by a larger device including the gateway device, or by a chip system or other functional module, which can realize the function of the gateway device. The chip system or functional module is, for example, set in the gateway device. The method includes: receiving a first message from a first terminal device via a satellite, the first message being a service message of an inbound service; and sending a second message to the first terminal device via the satellite, the second message including the message content sent by the second terminal device to the first terminal device under a cellular system or a satellite communication system.

[0023] In an optional implementation, the method further includes: receiving a second request message from a message management device, the second request message including the message content included in the second message, and the second request message is used to request that the message content included in the second message be sent to the first terminal device.

[0024] In an optional implementation, the sending the second message to the first terminal device through the satellite includes:

[0025] The second message and second information are sent to a satellite ground station, where the second information is used to instruct the satellite ground station to send the second message to the first terminal device via the satellite.

[0026] In an optional implementation, the method further includes: receiving at least one of the following from the message management device:

[0027] The identification of the satellite, wherein the first terminal device is located in the signal coverage area of ​​the satellite; the identification of the beam, wherein the beam is the beam used by the satellite to send the second message to the first terminal device.

[0028] In an optional embodiment, before sending the second message to the first terminal device via the satellite, the method also includes: sending a first indication message to the first terminal device via the satellite, the first indication message being used to indicate that there are one or more messages to be received by the first terminal device, and the one or more messages include the second message.

[0029] In an optional implementation, the method further includes: receiving second indication information from the first terminal device, where the second indication information is used to indicate a reception result of the second message.

[0030] In an optional implementation, when the receiving result is successful reception, the method further includes: deleting the second message.

[0031] In an optional implementation, the method further includes: sending fourth indication information to the message management device, where the fourth indication information is used to indicate a sending result of the message content included in the second message.

[0032] By using the above method, the sending result of the message content is indicated, thereby avoiding repeated sending of the same message in the satellite communication system and the cellular network.

[0033] In an optional implementation, the method further includes: receiving location information from the first terminal device; and forwarding the location information of the first terminal device to a core network device.

[0034] According to a third aspect, a message transmission method is provided, which can be executed by a message management device, or by a larger device including the message management device, or by a chip system or other functional module, which can realize the function of the message management device. The chip system or functional module is, for example, arranged in the message management device. The method includes: receiving third indication information from a core network device, the third indication information is used to indicate that a first terminal device supports the short message service of the satellite communication system; sending a second message to the first terminal device through a gateway device in the satellite communication system, the second message including the message content sent by the second terminal device to the first terminal device in a cellular system or a satellite communication system.

[0035] In an optional implementation, the method further includes: receiving second routing information of the first terminal device from the core network device.

[0036] In an optional implementation, before receiving the second routing information of the first terminal device from the core network device, the method further includes: sending a first request message to the core network device, where the first request message is used to request the first routing information of the first terminal device.

[0037] In an optional embodiment, the second routing information includes at least one of the following: an identifier of the satellite, wherein the first terminal device is located within the signal coverage area of ​​the satellite; an identifier of the beam, wherein the beam is the beam used by the satellite to send the second message to the first terminal device; and address information of the gateway device.

[0038] In an optional embodiment, sending a second message to the first terminal device through a gateway device in a satellite communication system includes: sending a second request message to the gateway device, the second request message including the message content included in the second message, and the second request message is used to request the gateway device to send the message content included in the second message to the first terminal device.

[0039] In an optional embodiment, the second request message also includes at least one of the following: an identifier of the satellite, wherein the first terminal device is located within the signal coverage area of ​​the satellite; an identifier of the beam, wherein the beam is the beam used by the satellite to send the second message to the first terminal device.

[0040] In an optional implementation, the method further includes: receiving fourth indication information from a gateway device, where the fourth indication information is used to indicate a sending result of the message content included in the second message.

[0041] In an optional implementation, when the sending result is successful sending, the method further includes: deleting the message content sent by the second terminal device to the first terminal device in the cellular system or the satellite communication system.

[0042] In a fourth aspect, a message transmission method is provided. The method can be performed by a core network device, or by a larger device including the core network device, or by a chip system or other functional module. The chip system or functional module can implement the functions of the core network device. The chip system or functional module is, for example, provided in the core network device. The method includes:

[0043] receiving a first request message from a message management device, where the first request message is used to request first routing information of a first terminal device; the first routing information is routing information of the first terminal device in a cellular network;

[0044] Send third indication information to the message management device, where the third indication information is used to indicate that the first terminal device supports the satellite communication system short message service.

[0045] In an optional implementation, the third indication information is also used to indicate that the first terminal device is not connected to a cellular network.

[0046] In an optional implementation, the method further includes: sending second routing information of the first terminal device to the message management device, where the second routing information is routing information of the first terminal device in the satellite communication system.

[0047] In an optional implementation, the second routing information includes at least one of the following:

[0048] an identifier of the satellite, wherein the first terminal device is located within a signal coverage area of ​​the satellite;

[0049] An identifier of a beam, where the beam is the beam used when the satellite communicates with the first terminal device; and address information of a gateway device.

[0050] In a fifth aspect, the present application further provides a communication device capable of implementing any of the methods or implementations provided in the first aspect. The communication device may be implemented in hardware, software, or hardware executing corresponding software implementations. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the above-mentioned functions.

[0051] In one possible implementation, the communication device includes a processor configured to support the communication device in executing the method described in the first aspect above. The communication device may also include a memory, which may be coupled to the processor and stores program instructions and data necessary for the communication device. Optionally, the communication device also includes an interface circuit configured to support communication between the communication device and other communication devices.

[0052] In a possible implementation, the structure of the communication device includes a processing unit and a communication unit, which can perform the corresponding functions in the above method example. For details, please refer to the description in the first aspect and will not be repeated here.

[0053] In a sixth aspect, the present application further provides a communication device capable of implementing any of the methods or implementations provided in the second aspect above. The communication device may be implemented in hardware, software, or hardware executing corresponding software implementations. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the above functions.

[0054] In one possible implementation, the communication device includes a processor configured to support the communication device in executing the method described in the second aspect above. The communication device may also include a memory, which may be coupled to the processor and stores program instructions and data necessary for the communication device. Optionally, the communication device also includes an interface circuit configured to support communication between the communication device and other communication devices.

[0055] In a possible implementation, the structure of the communication device includes a processing unit and a communication unit, which can perform the corresponding functions in the above method example. For details, please refer to the description of the method provided in the second aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0056] In a seventh aspect, the present application further provides a communication device capable of implementing any of the methods or implementations provided in the third aspect. The communication device may be implemented in hardware, software, or hardware executing corresponding software implementations. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the above-mentioned functions.

[0057] In one possible implementation, the communication device includes a processor configured to support the communication device in executing the method described in the third aspect above. The communication device may also include a memory, which may be coupled to the processor and stores program instructions and data necessary for the communication device. Optionally, the communication device also includes an interface circuit configured to support communication between the communication device and other communication devices.

[0058] In a possible implementation, the structure of the communication device includes a processing unit and a communication unit, which can perform the corresponding functions in the above method example. For details, please refer to the description of the method provided in the third aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0059] In an eighth aspect, the present application further provides a communication device capable of implementing any of the methods or implementations provided in the fourth aspect. The communication device may be implemented in hardware, software, or hardware executing corresponding software implementations. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the above-mentioned functions.

[0060] In one possible implementation, the communication device includes a processor configured to support the communication device in executing the method described in the fourth aspect. The communication device may also include a memory, which may be coupled to the processor and stores program instructions and data necessary for the communication device. Optionally, the communication device also includes an interface circuit configured to support communication between the communication device and other communication devices.

[0061] In a possible implementation, the structure of the communication device includes a processing unit and a communication unit, which can perform the corresponding functions in the above method example. For details, please refer to the description in the fourth aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0062] In a ninth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the interface circuit is configured to receive signals from a communication device other than the communication device and transmit the signals to the processor, or to transmit the signals from the processor to the communication device other than the communication device, and wherein the processor is configured to execute a computer program or instructions stored in the memory to implement the method of any possible implementation of the first aspect. Optionally, the device further comprises a memory, wherein the memory stores the computer program or instructions.

[0063] In a tenth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a processor and an interface circuit, the interface circuit being configured to receive signals from a communication device other than the communication device and transmit the signals to the processor, or to transmit the signals from the processor to the communication device other than the communication device, the processor being configured to execute a computer program or instructions stored in the memory to implement the method of any possible implementation of the second aspect. Optionally, the device further comprises a memory storing the computer program or instructions.

[0064] In an eleventh aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a processor and an interface circuit, the interface circuit being configured to receive signals from a communication device other than the communication device and transmit the signals to the processor, or to transmit the signals from the processor to the communication device other than the communication device, the processor being configured to execute a computer program or instructions stored in the memory to implement the method of any possible implementation of the third aspect. Optionally, the device further comprises a memory storing the computer program or instructions.

[0065] In a twelfth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a processor and an interface circuit, the interface circuit being configured to receive signals from a communication device other than the communication device and transmit the signals to the processor, or to transmit the signals from the processor to the communication device other than the communication device, the processor being configured to execute a computer program or instructions stored in the memory to implement the method of any possible implementation of the fourth aspect. Optionally, the device further comprises a memory storing the computer program or instructions.

[0066] In the thirteenth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, in which a computer program or instruction is stored. When the computer program or instruction is executed on a computer, the computer implements the method in any possible implementation of any one of the first to fourth aspects.

[0067] In a fourteenth aspect, a computer program product comprising computer-readable instructions is provided, which, when the computer-readable instructions are executed on a computer, enables the computer to implement the method in any possible implementation of any of the aforementioned aspects from the first to the fourth aspects.

[0068] In the fifteenth aspect, a chip is provided, which includes a processor and may also include a memory. The processor is coupled to the memory and is used to execute a computer program or instruction stored in the memory, so that the chip implements the method in any possible implementation of any aspect of the first to fourth aspects.

[0069] In the sixteenth aspect, a device is provided, comprising one or more units for executing the method described in any one of the first to fourth aspects of the present application.

[0070] In the seventeenth aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes an apparatus for implementing the first aspect (such as a terminal device), an apparatus for implementing the second aspect (such as a gateway device), an apparatus for implementing the third aspect (such as a message management device), and an apparatus for implementing the fourth aspect (such as a core network device). BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0071] Figure 1A schematic diagram of short message transmission over a cellular network provided by this application;

[0072] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of short message transmission in a satellite communication system provided in this application;

[0073] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a network architecture applicable to this application;

[0074] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a location reporting process provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0075] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a message transmission method flow provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0076] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a message transmission method flow provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0077] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of a message transmission method flow provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0078] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of a message transmission method flow provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0079] Figure 9 A schematic diagram of a message transmission method flow provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0080] Figure 10 A flowchart of a method for reporting location information provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0081] Figure 11 A schematic diagram of a message transmission method flow provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0082] Figure 12 A schematic diagram of a message transmission method flow provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0083] Figure 13 A schematic diagram of a message transmission method flow provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0084] Figure 14 A schematic diagram of a message transmission method flow provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0085] Figure 15 A schematic diagram of a message transmission method flow provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0086] Figure 16 A schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0087] Figure 17A schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0088] The embodiments of the present application are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0089] The embodiments of the present application can be applied to various cellular networks, such as new radio (NR) systems, long term evolution (LTE) systems, future communication systems, and other cellular network systems, without limitation. The embodiments of the present application can also be applied to various satellite communication systems, including but not limited to the Beidou satellite communication system and the global positioning system (GPS).

[0090] In the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device is a device with wireless transceiver function or a chip that can be set in the device. The device with wireless transceiver function can also be called user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, user agent or user. In practical applications, the terminal device in the embodiment of the present application can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal, an augmented reality (AR) terminal, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical, a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in smart city, a wireless terminal in smart home, etc.

[0091] In a cellular network, a terminal device can receive short messages and other information from other terminal devices. For example, Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a cellular network short message transmission provided by the present application. Figure 1In the example, if terminal device A in a cellular network sends a short message to terminal device B in a cellular network, the short message sent by terminal device A passes through the cellular network and reaches the message management device in the cellular network. The message management device requests routing information from the home subscriber server (HSS) / user data management (UDM), that is, requests to obtain the location information of terminal device B. The short message center will send the short message to terminal device B according to the routing information.

[0092] The HSS stores all user and service-related data on the LTE network and manages user subscription information and location. The UDM manages NR network user data and services, responsible for user identification, access authorization, registration, mobility, subscription, and SMS management, inheriting the functions of the HSS. The message management device, also known as the short message center, is deployed within the cellular network and implements functions such as short message reception, storage, forwarding, and short message status reporting.

[0093] Terminal devices can periodically report location tracking area information on the cellular network. This location tracking area information indicates the cell in which the terminal device is located. The HSS / UDM can then update the terminal's location tracking area information so that the terminal device can be found when needed. If the HSS / UDM does not receive the terminal device's location tracking area information for an extended period of time, such as when the terminal device is powered off or out of cellular coverage, the HSS / UDM will clear the terminal device's location tracking area information and will be unable to provide services to the terminal device. When the terminal device reconnects to the cellular network, such as when it is powered on or enters a cellular coverage area, the HSS / UDM will re-record the terminal device's location tracking area information.

[0094] If a terminal device is out of cellular coverage for an extended period, the HSS / UDM lacks the device's location tracking information. When the message management device receives a short message addressed to the terminal device and requests the HSS / UDM for the device's routing information, the HSS / UDM indicates to the message management device that the device is unreachable. This indicates that the network cannot find the device, so the message management device cannot send the message to the device.

[0095] According to the above description, when terminal device A and terminal device B only use cellular networks, they can only send and receive short messages when connected to the cellular network. When the terminal device has no cellular network coverage or the network is destroyed by a natural disaster, the terminal device cannot send and receive short messages, and cannot perform emergency rescue operations such as short messages.

[0096] Terminal devices that support satellite communication systems can receive short messages via satellite. A single satellite can cover thousands or even tens of thousands of square meters. To ensure wide-area coverage, a satellite can be equipped with dozens, hundreds, or even more beams, each capable of covering hundreds or even thousands of square meters. A satellite's beam refers to the shape of electromagnetic waves emitted by a satellite antenna on the Earth's surface, much like the beam of a flashlight. Alternatively, the signal transmitted by a satellite is not radiated 360 degrees, but rather concentrated in a specific direction.

[0097] In some satellite communication systems, terminal devices can only receive short messages from the National Emergency Rescue Center. The terminal device needs to actively send a query or download message before it can query or download its own short messages from the gateway device in the satellite communication system. Short messages cannot be actively sent to the terminal device. For example, Figure 2As shown, this is a schematic diagram of short message transmission in a satellite communication system provided by the present application. After the gateway device obtains the short message from the terminal device, it will cache the short message. Since the gateway device cannot determine which satellite's signal coverage the terminal device is in, nor the beam used for communication between the terminal device and the satellite, the gateway device will not actively send it to the terminal device, nor will it indicate to the terminal device that there is a short message to be received. Terminal device C that supports the satellite communication system can download the short message sent by the National Emergency Rescue Center to terminal device C by actively querying. Assume that terminal device C currently has no cellular network coverage, but supports satellite communication systems, such as Beidou service services. The short message sent by the National Emergency Rescue Center to terminal device C arrives at the gateway device, and the gateway device caches the short message of terminal device C. Terminal device C can query whether there is a short message belonging to it in the gateway device by sending a mailbox query message, wherein the mailbox query message may include the satellite identifier and the beam identifier, the terminal device is in the signal coverage of the satellite, and the terminal device uses the beam for communication with the satellite. By querying the mailbox for messages, the satellite ground station can determine which satellite's signal coverage the terminal device is within, as well as the beam used for communication between the terminal device and the satellite. Terminal device C can download its own short message from the gateway device by sending a "Download" message. If the gateway device does not have a short message from terminal device C, it will reply to terminal device C indicating that it has no short messages. If the gateway device does have a short message from terminal device C, it will send the short message to the satellite ground station, which will then deliver the short message to terminal device C via satellite. The gateway device can store short messages to be sent to a terminal device in the satellite communication system. In one implementation, when the gateway device receives a short message to be sent to a terminal device, it can store the short message until it is sent to the terminal device. In another implementation, if the gateway device receives a short message to be sent to a terminal device, but the terminal device has not queried the gateway device for a long period of time (e.g., three days) to determine whether it has any pending messages, the gateway device can delete the short message and not send it to the terminal device.

[0098] The gateway device, also known as a converged short message gateway or satellite converged short message gateway, is hereinafter referred to as a gateway device. The gateway device supports message transmission between two terminal devices in a satellite communication system and can perform functions such as converting short message formats between the satellite communication system and the cellular network.

[0099] A satellite ground station can also be called a satellite ground receiver or other names. The function of a satellite ground station is to transmit signals to satellites and receive signals from satellites.

[0100] Current terminal devices' RF components are designed to receive signals from ground base stations. In satellite communication systems, if a terminal device needs to receive satellite signals, it is necessary to manually adjust the terminal device's antenna position, such as adjusting the terminal device's posture, so that the terminal device's antenna can receive satellite signals with better signal quality. This process is also called the alignment process. Due to the complexity of the terminal device's alignment process, the terminal device will not actively report its location. As a result, when the terminal device is not covered by a cellular network, the HSS / UDM in the cellular network does not know that the terminal device is currently in a satellite communication system and is therefore unable to determine the terminal device's routing information. When a short message sent to this terminal device by other terminal devices in the cellular network reaches the message management device, the message management device cannot obtain the terminal device's routing information from the HSS / UDM and is therefore unable to send the short message to the terminal device.

[0101] In order to solve the above problem, in this application, when the message management device in the cellular network receives an indication from the HSS / UDM that the terminal device is unreachable, it can send a short message to the gateway device in the satellite communication system, thereby sending the short message to the terminal device via the satellite communication system. Specifically, Figure 3 The figure shows a schematic diagram of a network architecture applicable to the present application. Terminal device A in a cellular network sends a short message to terminal device B. After receiving the short message, the message management device in the cellular network requests the routing information of terminal device B from the HSS / UDM. Since terminal device B is not connected to the cellular network, the HSS / UDM cannot provide the routing information of terminal device B to the message management device. The message management device sends the short message to the gateway device in the satellite communication system. After receiving the short message, the gateway device sends the short message to terminal device B via satellite. To clearly describe the solution provided by the present application, a detailed description is provided below.

[0102] In this application, the terms "and / or" and "or" describe the relationship between associated objects, indicating that three possible relationships exist. For example, "A and / or B" can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. The character " / " generally indicates that the associated objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0103] The term "plurality" in this application refers to two or more.

[0104] In the description of this application, words such as "first" and "second" are only used for the purpose of distinguishing the description and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or order.

[0105] In the embodiments of this application, the word "exemplary" is used to mean an example, illustration, or description. Any embodiment or design described in this application as "exemplary" should not be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of the word "exemplary" is intended to present concepts in a concrete way.

[0106] The network architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application. Ordinary technicians in this field will know that with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0107] This application describes an example in which a first terminal device is not connected to a cellular network and a second terminal device sends a message to the first terminal device. This application does not limit the reason why the first terminal device is not connected to the cellular network. For example, the first terminal device may be located in an area without cellular network coverage. When the second terminal device sends a short message to the first terminal device, the short message can be transmitted to the first terminal device using the method provided in this application.

[0108] Optionally, in this application, the first terminal device can report its location information to HSS / UDM via satellite, and the message management device can obtain the routing information of the first terminal device via HSS / UDM, and then send the short message to the first terminal device according to the routing information. The process of the first terminal device reporting its location information to HSS / UDM can be as follows: Figure 4 shown.

[0109] like Figure 4 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a location reporting process provided by an embodiment of the present application, the method including:

[0110] S401: The first terminal device sends location information to the gateway device.

[0111] Figure 4 In the process, the location information sent by the first terminal device reaches the gateway device through the satellite and the satellite ground station. The specific transmission process is not limited in this application and will not be described in detail here.

[0112] It should be noted that, unlike cellular communications, the first terminal device needs to perform a satellite alignment process before communicating with the satellite. The main purpose of the satellite alignment process is to determine the beam with the best signal quality when the terminal device communicates with the satellite.

[0113] In one implementation, the first terminal device can proactively perform the alignment process. In another implementation, when the first terminal device has no cellular network signal, a prompt message can be displayed through the user interface (UI) of the first terminal device to prompt the user of the first terminal device to trigger the first terminal device to perform the alignment process.

[0114] In conjunction with the above description, in this application, the location information reported by the first terminal device may include the latitude and longitude coordinate information of the first terminal device, and the reported location information may also include at least one of a satellite identifier and a beam identifier. The first terminal device is located within the signal coverage area of ​​the satellite; the beam is the beam used by the first terminal device when communicating with the satellite.

[0115] The first terminal device may periodically send location information to the gateway device via satellite for location update, or may send location information to the gateway device via satellite in a non-periodic manner for location update, and this application does not limit this.

[0116] Optionally, the first terminal device may further send third indication information to the core network device, where the third indication information is used to indicate that the first terminal device supports the satellite communication system short message service, that is, indicates that the first terminal device supports receiving messages via the satellite communication system. The core network device may be HSS / UDM.

[0117] The third indication information may be sent through the same message as the location information when the first terminal device reports the location information for the first time. The third indication information may also be independent of the location information and sent through different messages.

[0118] Through this method, the first terminal device directly indicates that it supports the short message service of the satellite communication system, so that when the core network device is unable to determine the routing information of the first terminal device in the cellular network, the routing information of the first terminal device in the satellite communication system is sent to the message management device, so that the first terminal device can receive messages from the cellular network when it is not connected to the cellular network.

[0119] The first terminal device may also not send the third indication information. The core network device may determine whether the first terminal device supports the satellite communication system short message service through other means. For example, when the first terminal device activates the satellite communication system short message service, the core network device may record that the first terminal device has activated the satellite communication system short message service. This application does not limit this.

[0120] S402: The gateway device sends the location information of the first terminal device to the core network device.

[0121] The core network device may be an HSS / UDM. The gateway device may also send other information to the core network device, such as at least one of the following information:

[0122] an identifier of the first terminal device, such as a globally unique temporary UE identity (GUTI) or a mobile subscriber international ISDN / PSTN number (MSISDN) of the first terminal device; ISDN is the abbreviation for integrated service digital network, and PSTN is the abbreviation for public switched telephone network;

[0123] The address information of the gateway device, such as the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the gateway device.

[0124] After the core network device obtains the location information of the first terminal device, it can save the location information of the first terminal device. When the message management device requests the routing information of the first terminal device from the core network device, the location information can be sent to the message management device. If the location information includes the latitude and longitude coordinate information of the terminal device, but does not include the satellite identifier and the beam identifier, the gateway device or the core network device can determine which satellite's signal coverage range and which satellite's beam coverage range the terminal device is within based on the deployment of satellites and the satellite's trajectory in the satellite communication system, combined with the location information of the terminal device, thereby determining the satellite identifier and the beam identifier.

[0125] Through the above method, the first terminal device actively reports the location information to the core network device through the gateway device. Therefore, even if the first terminal device is not connected to the cellular network, the core network device in the cellular network can determine the location information of the first terminal device, so that when it is necessary to transmit a message to the first terminal device, the message can be transmitted to the first terminal device according to the location information.

[0126] like Figure 5 FIG. 1 is a flow chart of a message transmission method provided in an embodiment of the present application, the method comprising:

[0127] S501: The message management device obtains a short message from a second terminal device.

[0128] The recipient of the short message is the first terminal device, that is, the short message corresponds to the first terminal device. The short message includes the message content sent by the second terminal device to the first terminal device in a cellular system or a satellite communication system. The specific content of the short message is not limited in this application. The message management device can cache the short message.

[0129] In a possible implementation, the second terminal device accesses a cellular network, and the format of the short message sent by the second terminal device is a cellular network short message format.

[0130] In another possible implementation, the second terminal device is not connected to the cellular network, and the second terminal device sends a short message to the gateway device via a satellite. At this time, the format of the short message sent by the second terminal device is the short message format of the satellite communication system. The gateway device then converts the short message into a message in the short message format of the cellular network and forwards it to the message management device.

[0131] S502: The message management device sends a first request message to the core network device, where the first request message is used to request first routing information of the first terminal device.

[0132] The name of the first request message is not limited. For example, the first request message may also be called a routing information message for sending a short message (SendRoutingInfoForShortMsg).

[0133] The first routing information may refer to routing information of the first terminal device in the cellular network, for example, may include location information of a mobility management entity (MME) or AMF that establishes a connection with the first terminal device in the cellular network.

[0134] As mentioned above, the core network device may refer to an HSS / UDM, or a device that stores the first routing information of the first terminal device.

[0135] In this application, the first terminal device is not connected to the cellular network, so the core network device can perform:

[0136] S503: The core network device sends third indication information to the message management device, where the third indication information is used to indicate that the first terminal device supports the short message service of the satellite communication system.

[0137] It should be noted that if the first terminal device does not support the satellite communication system short message service before the core network device sends the third indication information, the core network device can indicate to the message management device that the first terminal device is unreachable, or indicate that the first terminal device is not connected to the network.

[0138] Optionally, the third indication information may also be used to indicate that the core network device does not have the first routing information of the first terminal device.

[0139] If the first terminal device passes Figure 4 If the core network device sends the location information to the gateway device according to the process, the core network device may also send the second routing information of the first terminal device to the message management device. The second routing information may refer to the routing information of the first terminal device in the satellite communication system, wherein the second routing information may include at least one of the following:

[0140] Satellite identification; beam identification; gateway device address information.

[0141] After receiving the third indication information, the message management device may send a second message to the first terminal device via a gateway device in the satellite communication system. The second message includes the message content sent by the second terminal device to the first terminal device in the cellular system or the satellite communication system. Specifically, the process may include the following:

[0142] S504: The message management device sends a second request message to the gateway device.

[0143] The name of the second request message is not limited, for example, the second request message can also be called a short message sending message. The second request message can be used to request the gateway device to send the message content sent by the second terminal device to the first terminal device to the first terminal device.

[0144] The second request message includes the message content sent by the second terminal device to the first terminal device in the cellular system or the satellite communication system, for example, includes the content included in the short message obtained in S501.

[0145] Optionally, if the message management device obtains the second routing information, the second request message may further include at least one of the following: an identifier of the satellite; an identifier of the beam.

[0146] At this time, the second request message can also be used to request the gateway device to instruct the satellite corresponding to the satellite identifier to use the beam to send the message content sent by the second terminal device to the first terminal device to the first terminal device.

[0147] It should be noted that before the message management device sends the second request message, it may first determine the address information of the gateway device. In one possible implementation, the address information of the gateway device is obtained from the core network device; in another possible implementation, the address information of the gateway device is pre-configured.

[0148] In a satellite communication system, if a terminal device has not completed the satellite alignment process (equivalent to the network access process in a cellular network), the message sent by the gateway device cannot be received by the terminal device. Therefore, after receiving the second request message, the gateway device can save the message content sent by the second terminal device to the first terminal device. When the gateway device determines that the first terminal device has completed the satellite alignment process, it can forward the message content to the first terminal device. For details, please refer to the following process.

[0149] S505: The first terminal device sends a first message to the gateway device via the satellite. Correspondingly, the gateway device receives the first message from the first terminal device via the satellite.

[0150] If the first message is a service message of an inbound service, the gateway device may determine that the first terminal device has completed the satellite alignment process. At this time, if the gateway device sends a message to the first terminal device, the first terminal device may receive the message.

[0151] In this application, inbound services refer to services that require a response from a gateway device after a terminal device sends a message to it. In other words, after a terminal sends a message, it waits for a response from the receiving network. Examples of inbound services include, but are not limited to, communication message services (which can be understood as short message services), mailbox services (including mailbox query services and letter download services), emergency rescue services, and location reporting services.

[0152] For example, when the inbound service is a communication message service, the service message can be a short message sent by the terminal device; when the inbound service is a mailbox service, the service message can be a mailbox query message or a letter download message sent by the terminal device. The mailbox query message can be used to query whether there are pending messages, and the letter download message is used to request the download of pending messages. When the inbound service is an emergency rescue service, the service message can be an emergency distress message used to request external rescue; when the inbound service is a location reporting service, the service message can be a location reporting message used to report the location information of the terminal device.

[0153] After the terminal device sends a service message, the network device can respond to the terminal device within a preset time window. When the time window ends, it indicates that the inbound service is in the end state. The gateway device can send a second message to the first terminal device before the inbound service ends.

[0154] S506: The gateway device sends a second message to the first terminal device via the satellite. Correspondingly, the first terminal device receives the second message from the gateway device via the satellite.

[0155] The second message includes the message content sent by the second terminal device to the first terminal device in the cellular system or the satellite communication system. For example, the second message includes the message content included in the short message in S501.

[0156] Through the above method, when the message management device is unable to obtain the first routing information of the first terminal device in the cellular network, it can send a second message to the first terminal device through the gateway device in the satellite communication system, so that the first terminal device that is not connected to the cellular network can also receive messages sent by other terminal devices in the satellite communication system, thereby improving communication efficiency and improving communication reliability.

[0157] It should be noted that the messages between the gateway device and the first terminal device need to be forwarded by the satellite and the satellite ground station. The specific forwarding process is not limited in this application.

[0158] In this application, when the gateway device obtains the message content sent by the second terminal device to the first terminal device, it can first indicate to the first terminal device that there is a message to be received. When the first terminal device determines to receive the message to be received, it forwards the message content sent by the second device to the first terminal device. The following describes a specific process how the gateway device sends the second message to the first terminal device via satellite.

[0159] like Figure 6 FIG. 1 is a flow chart of a message transmission method provided in an embodiment of the present application, the method comprising:

[0160] S601: The gateway device sends first indication information to the first terminal device via a satellite.

[0161] In a first implementation, if the gateway device does not obtain the satellite identifier and beam identifier, the gateway device may not be able to determine which satellite's signal coverage area the first terminal device is within, nor which beam is used for communication between the first terminal device and the satellite. In this implementation, the gateway device may instruct the satellite ground station to send the first indication information to the first terminal device via multiple satellites, where each satellite may use multiple beams to send the first indication information.

[0162] In a second implementation, if the gateway device obtains the satellite identifier and the beam identifier, the gateway device can determine that the first terminal device is within the signal coverage of the satellite and can also determine the identifier of the beam used for communication between the first terminal device and the satellite. In this implementation, the gateway device can instruct the satellite ground station to send the first indication information to the first terminal device, and the identifier of the beam used when the satellite ground station instructed the satellite to send the first indication information.

[0163] In the present application, the first indication information can be used to indicate that there are one or more messages to be received by the first terminal device, and the one or more messages include the second message.

[0164] Optionally, the first indication information may also be used to indicate the identifier of the sender of the message to be received, for example, the first indication information indicates the identifier of the second terminal device.

[0165] S602: The first terminal device sends a third message to the gateway device.

[0166] In a first possible implementation manner, the third message is used to request receiving one or more messages, that is, the third message is used to request downloading one or more messages indicated by the first indication information.

[0167] In the second possible implementation, the third message includes the sender identifier of the message, and the third message is used to request receipt of a message sent by the device corresponding to the sender identifier to the first terminal device. For example, if the third message includes the identifier of the second terminal device, then the third message can be used to request receipt of one or more messages from the second terminal device, that is, to request downloading of the message content sent by the second terminal device to the first terminal device.

[0168] Optionally, the third message may also include time information. The third message is also used to request continuous reception of messages under the cellular system or satellite communication system through the gateway device within the time period indicated by the time information. That is to say, within this time period, if the gateway device receives a message that needs to be sent to the first terminal device, it may no longer send the first indication information to the first terminal device, and directly forward the message to the first terminal device.

[0169] Assuming that the first terminal device requests to download the content of a message sent by the second terminal device to the first terminal device, the following process may be included:

[0170] S603: The gateway device sends a second message to the first terminal device.

[0171] It should be noted that if the gateway device obtains a short message from the second terminal device through the second request message, the short message includes the message content sent by the second terminal device to the first terminal device, and the short message is sent by the second terminal device through the cellular network, then the gateway device can also convert the format of the short message from the cellular network short message format to the satellite communication system short message format, thereby obtaining the second message.

[0172] In the first implementation method, if the gateway device does not obtain the satellite identification and the beam identification, the gateway device can send a second message and second information to the satellite ground station, and the second information is used to instruct the satellite ground station to send the second message to the first terminal device through at least one satellite, where each satellite can use multiple beams to send the second message.

[0173] The second implementation method is that if the gateway device obtains the satellite identification and the beam identification, the gateway device can send a second message and second information to the satellite ground station. The second information is used to indicate to the satellite ground station the identification of the satellite that sends the second message to the first terminal device, and the identification of the beam used by the satellite to send the second message.

[0174] Through this method, the second message can be accurately sent to the first terminal device via the satellite where the first terminal device is located, thereby avoiding waste of system resources.

[0175] S604: The first terminal device sends second indication information to the gateway device via the satellite, where the second indication information is used to indicate a reception result of the second message.

[0176] If the second message is received successfully, the reception result indicated by the second indication information is a successful reception; if the second message is received unsuccessfully, the reception result indicated by the second indication information is a failed reception.

[0177] S605: The gateway device sends fourth indication information to the message management device, where the fourth indication information is used to indicate a sending result of the message content sent by the second terminal device to the first terminal device in the cellular system or the satellite communication system.

[0178] If the second indication information indicates a successful reception result, the gateway device may delete the second message or delete the message content sent by the second terminal device to the first terminal device in the cellular system or satellite communication system. Correspondingly, if the fourth indication information sent by the gateway device indicates a successful reception result, the message management device may delete the message content sent by the second terminal device to the first terminal device in the cellular system or satellite communication system.

[0179] In the present application, the gateway device may further set a status flag for each message to be received by the first terminal device. If the second indication information indicates that the reception result is a reception failure, the gateway device may set the status flag corresponding to the second message to a sending failure. Correspondingly, the fourth indication information sent by the gateway device indicates that the sending result is a sending failure.

[0180] Through the above process, the gateway device can first prompt the first terminal device whether to receive the message to be received. When the first terminal device agrees, the message is sent to the first terminal device, avoiding the first terminal device actively querying whether there is a message to be received, and can achieve more timely sending of short messages to the first terminal device.

[0181] Figure 6 In the process shown, the first terminal device agrees to receive the message when it determines that there is a message to be received. The first terminal device can also refuse to receive the message. For details, please refer to the following process.

[0182] like Figure 7 FIG. 1 is a flow chart of a message transmission method provided in an embodiment of the present application, the method comprising:

[0183] S701: The gateway device sends first indication information to the first terminal device via a satellite.

[0184] For details of this step, please refer to the description in S601.

[0185] S702: The first terminal device sends a rejection message to the gateway device.

[0186] The rejection message may be used to indicate a rejection of receiving the message to be received. The rejection message may include a rejection reason, such as a low battery level of the first terminal device.

[0187] S703: The gateway device sends fourth indication information to the message management device, where the fourth indication information is used to indicate that the message content included in the second message fails to be sent.

[0188] Optionally, the fourth indication information may also indicate the reason for the sending failure, for example, the reason for the failure is that the first terminal device refuses to receive the message content included in the second message.

[0189] Optionally, the gateway device may further set a status flag corresponding to the second message to send failure.

[0190] Optionally, S704: the message management device sends a failure report message to the core network device, where the failure report message is used to indicate that the second terminal device fails to send the message content to the first terminal device in the cellular system or the satellite communication system.

[0191] Furthermore, if the first terminal device refuses to receive the message, after a preset time, the gateway device may again indicate to the first terminal device that there is a message to be received, that is, execute the command again. Figure 6 The specific process is not repeated here.

[0192] In this application, for message content that the first terminal device has not received, the message management device and the gateway device may cache it for a specified period of time. The length of the specified period of time may be pre-configured or agreed upon by the protocol, and is not limited by this application. If the first terminal device has not successfully received the message content after the specified period of time, the message management device and the gateway device may delete it.

[0193] The above process describes how the first terminal device receives a message from the second terminal device. In this application, the first terminal device can also send a message to the second terminal device via a satellite communication system, which is described in detail below.

[0194] like Figure 8 FIG. 1 is a flow chart of a message transmission method provided in an embodiment of the present application, the method comprising:

[0195] S801: The first terminal device sends a fourth message to the gateway device via a satellite.

[0196] The fourth message includes the message content sent by the first terminal device to the second terminal device.

[0197] After receiving the fourth message, the gateway device buffers the fourth message and converts the format of the fourth message from the satellite communication system format to the cellular system format to obtain a fifth message. The fifth message includes the message content sent by the first terminal device to the second terminal device.

[0198] S802: The gateway device sends a fifth message to the message management device.

[0199] S803: The message management device sends a request message to the core network device, where the request message is used to request the third routing information of the second terminal device.

[0200] S804: The message management device receives third routing information from the core network device.

[0201] In the first implementation, if the second terminal device is located in a cellular network and the third routing information is the routing information of the second terminal device in the cellular network, the message management device can directly forward the fifth message to the second terminal device according to the third routing information.

[0202] In the second implementation, if the second terminal device is not located in a cellular network but in a satellite communication system, and the third routing information is routing information of the second terminal device in the satellite communication system, the message management device may perform the following process:

[0203] S805: The message management device sends a third request message to the gateway device.

[0204] The third request message may be used to request the gateway device to send the message content sent by the first terminal device to the second terminal device to the second terminal device.

[0205] Optionally, the second request message includes the message content sent by the first terminal device to the second terminal device, that is, the message content of the fourth message. If the gateway device in S805 and S802 is the same gateway device, the second request message may not include the message content.

[0206] Optionally, if the message management device obtains the identifier of the satellite corresponding to the area where the second terminal device is located and the identifier of the beam used to communicate with the satellite, the third request message may also include at least one of the following: the identifier of the satellite; the identifier of the beam.

[0207] S806: The gateway device forwards the message content of the fourth message to the second terminal device.

[0208] The specific process can be referred to Figures 5 to 7 The description of the process will not be repeated here.

[0209] In combination with the above description, the above process is described below through a specific embodiment. In the following implementation methods 1 to 4, the short message center can correspond to Figure 3 The message management device in the fusion short message gateway can correspond to Figure 3 The gateway device in the first terminal device can correspond to Figure 3 The terminal device B in the second terminal device can correspond to Figure 3 Terminal device A in.

[0210] Implementation method 1:

[0211] In the first implementation method, when the short message center determines through HSS / UDM that the Beidou user (hereinafter referred to as the first terminal device) is unreachable, it sends the short message to the first terminal device through the Beidou network (hereinafter referred to as the satellite communication system), that is, the short message center sends the short message from the second terminal device to the fusion short message gateway. After receiving the short message to be sent to the first terminal device, the fusion short message gateway does not know which satellite and which satellite beam the first terminal device is under coverage. Therefore, the fusion short message gateway needs to send the message content included in the short message to the first terminal device under all beams of all satellites in the satellite communication system.

[0212] The short message center receives the short message to be sent to the first terminal device, requests the first routing information of the first terminal device from the HSS / UDM, and the information fed back by the HSS / UDM instructs the first terminal device to activate the Beidou satellite short message service. The short message center sends the short message to the integrated short message gateway, which then sends it to the first terminal device. The specific process is as follows: Figure 9 shown.

[0213] Step 901: The short message center requests the first routing information of the first terminal device from the HSS / UDM.

[0214] Before this step, the short message center receives a short message from the second terminal device, where the short message includes message content sent by the second terminal device to the first terminal device in a cellular system or a satellite communication system.

[0215] Step 902: HSS / UDM fails to feedback routing information, indicating that there is no first routing information of the first terminal device, but contains an identifier that the first terminal device supports satellite short message service, that is, the first terminal device supports satellite service.

[0216] Step 903: The short message center sends the short message to the converged short message gateway.

[0217] Step 904: The converged short message gateway receives a service message of an inbound service from the first terminal device via the satellite.

[0218] Step 905: The converged short message gateway sends the message content included in the short message to all beams.

[0219] Step 906: The first terminal device receives the message content of the short message.

[0220] This solution enables terminal devices that have activated the Beidou satellite short message service to still receive short messages sent to them even when there is no cellular coverage.

[0221] Implementation method 2:

[0222] Implementation method 2 and implementation method 1 can be implemented separately or in combination with each other. In implementation method 2, when the first terminal device enters an area without cellular coverage, the first terminal device reports its location information. Among them, the user may need to align the first terminal device with the satellite and then send the location information. The location information of the first terminal device reaches the fusion short message gateway via the satellite, and the fusion short message gateway sends the terminal location information (which may include the MSISDN of the first terminal device, the IP address information of the fusion gateway, the identifier of the satellite where the first terminal device is located, and the identifier of the beam where the first terminal device is located) to the HSS / UDM. At this time, the HSS / UDM knows which satellite and which beam the first terminal device is in. After receiving the short message sent to the first terminal device, the short message center requests the location information of the first terminal device from the HSS / UDM. The HSS / UDM does not have the location information of the first terminal device under the cellular network, but has the location information of the first terminal device under Beidou, and sends the location information of the first terminal device under Beidou to the short message center. After receiving the message, the short message center knows that the first terminal device is located under Beidou, and sends the short message and the information of which satellite and which beam the first terminal device is on to the integrated short message gateway. The integrated short message gateway can more accurately send the short message belonging to the first terminal device under the beam where the first terminal device is located.

[0223] The first terminal device reports its location information via satellite, and the short message center sends a short message to the first terminal device based on the routing information of the first terminal device obtained from the HSS / UDM. Therefore, implementation method 2 can be composed of two processes: the first terminal device reports its user location information to the HSS / UDM via the converged short message gateway, and the short message center sends the short message to the first terminal device.

[0224] Process 1: The first terminal device reports the user location information to HSS / UDM through the integrated short message gateway. Figure 10 shown.

[0225] Step 1001: The first terminal device periodically sends location information to the converged short message gateway via satellite to update its location.

[0226] The location information reported by the first terminal device includes at least one of the latitude and longitude coordinates of the first terminal device, MSISDN, IP address information of the converged short message gateway, satellite identification (ID), and beam ID.

[0227] Step 1002. The integrated short message gateway reports the location information of the first terminal device to the HSS / UDM, that is, reports at least one of the latitude and longitude coordinates of the first terminal device, MSISDN, IP address information of the integrated short message gateway, satellite ID, and beam ID.

[0228] Step 1003. HSS / UDM saves the location information of the first terminal device, that is, saves at least one of the latitude and longitude coordinates of the first terminal device, MSISDN, IP address information of the integrated short message gateway, satellite ID, and beam ID.

[0229] Steps 1001, 1002, and 1003 are all processes not currently available in satellite communication systems. The information in step 1002 about the first terminal device's MSISDN, the IP address of the converged short message gateway, and the satellite ID and beam ID of the first terminal device are key to the invention. Once the first terminal device's location information is reported, the HSS / UDM knows the first terminal device's location and can therefore determine whether to send the user's short message to the converged short message gateway.

[0230] Due to current limitations in RF components in terminals (such as smartphones), it is not possible for the terminal to proactively report location information via satellite. Under current satellite communication systems, the terminal must complete satellite alignment under user control before it can send location information. Therefore, due to current limitations, the current location reporting scheme needs to be modified. Step 1001 above is changed to the following:

[0231] When the first terminal device has no cellular network, the user can be actively prompted through the user interface, and the user actively sends location information to the star-to-star integrated short message gateway to update the location.

[0232] The steps of the subsequent process can refer to step 1002 and step 1003 of the previous process.

[0233] Process 2: The short message center sends the short message to the first terminal device. Because the first terminal device has already reported its location, the short message center can obtain the routing information of the first terminal device from the HSS / UDM and send the short message belonging to the first terminal device under the satellite beam where the first terminal device is located, thus avoiding the waste of system resources. The specific process is as follows: Figure 11 shown.

[0234] Step 1101: The short message center requests the first routing information of the first terminal device from the HSS / UDM.

[0235] Step 1102. HSS / UDM returns the second routing information of the first terminal device to the short message center. The second routing information includes at least one of the IP address information of the integrated short message gateway where the first terminal device is located, the satellite ID, the beam ID, and the identifier of the first terminal device activating the satellite short message service.

[0236] Since the first terminal device is not connected to the cellular network, the HSS / UDM returns the second routing information of the first terminal device in the satellite communication system to the short message center.

[0237] Step 1103: The short message center sends the short message, satellite ID, and beam ID to the integrated short message gateway.

[0238] Step 1104: The fused short message gateway sends the message content included in the short message to the first terminal device according to the satellite ID and the beam ID.

[0239] Implementation method three:

[0240] In the third implementation method, the interactive operations and processes of the short message gateway and the short message center are integrated to jointly maintain the short messages of the first terminal device to avoid repeated sending of the same message in the satellite communication system and the cellular network.

[0241] In addition, regarding the problem of sending short messages in the current converged short message network, affected by the current terminal devices (such as smart phones), users need to align their terminal devices with the satellite before they can send messages in the satellite communication system. The current technology is: after the converged short message gateway receives the short message sent to the terminal device, it caches the short message. After the terminal device aligns with the satellite, it queries or requests the converged short message center to download the short message of the user terminal. The converged short message center will send the short message to the terminal device only after receiving the request to download the short message from the terminal device. In this application, when the converged short message gateway receives the short message sent to the terminal device, it sets a flag about the user (indicating that there is a short message from the user). When the terminal device sends a service in the satellite communication system, the converged short message gateway receives the user's service and has the short message flag of the terminal device. The converged short message gateway then sends a short message prompt information to the terminal device.

[0242] Implementation method three targets scenarios where satellite communication systems are currently limited by various factors. Specifically, a terminal device cannot receive satellite information without being aligned with the satellite. The main issue addressed is how the converged short message gateway can proactively send short message-related information to the first terminal device. Current technology involves the converged short message gateway caching short messages received by the user. Once the user terminal is aligned with the satellite, it queries or requests the converged short message center to download the user's short message. The converged short message center then sends the message to the user only after receiving the download request.

[0243] In this application, when the fusion short message gateway receives a short message sent to a terminal device, it sets a flag about the user (indicating that there is a short message from the user). When the terminal device sends a service in the satellite communication system, the fusion short message gateway receives the service of the terminal device and has the short message flag of the terminal device. The fusion short message gateway then sends a short message prompt information to the terminal device. This can reduce the signaling interaction between the terminal device and the satellite communication system and reduce latency. The innovation of this implementation method three also includes that the fusion short message gateway also saves the short message sent to the first terminal device. The fusion short message gateway and the short message center both maintain the short message of the first terminal device, avoiding the repeated transmission of the same message in the satellite communication system and the cellular network.

[0244] In this application, the reason for not directly sending short messages is that satellite communication system short message rates are relatively high, so it is up to the user to decide whether to receive short messages. Furthermore, after the converged short message gateway receives the short message sent to the first terminal device, the user may be in or out of alignment with the satellite, and the interaction process will differ in different situations. Therefore, implementation method three can be divided into the four cases shown below.

[0245] Case 1: If Figure 12 As shown, the first terminal device is performing inbound business and chooses to receive short messages.

[0246] Step 1200: The converged short message gateway sends a short message to the short message center. The short message includes the message content sent by the second terminal device to the first terminal device in the cellular system or the satellite communication system.

[0247] The converged short message gateway caches the short message sent by the short message center, and both the short message center and the converged short message gateway store the short message.

[0248] Step 1201: The converged short message gateway detects that the terminal sends a service message for an inbound service and the inbound service has not ended, and sends a prompt message of a short message to be received to the first terminal device.

[0249] Step 1202: The first terminal device sends a letter download request message to the converged short message gateway to request to receive a short message.

[0250] Step 1203: The converged short message gateway sends the message content in the short message to the first terminal device.

[0251] Step 1204: The first terminal device receives the message content in the completion short message and replies to the inbound application receipt based on the result.

[0252] The inbound application receipt can indicate whether the message content in the short message is received successfully.

[0253] Step 1205: The converged short message gateway deletes the cached short message and sends a short message delivery report to the short message center.

[0254] The report information is used to indicate whether the short message is sent successfully. If the short message is sent successfully, the report information can also be used to notify the short message center to delete the short message that has been successfully received.

[0255] Step 1206: When the short message is sent successfully, the short message center deletes the short message cached by the terminal.

[0256] In this case, the converged short message gateway can directly send the short message arrival information to the first terminal device. After the first terminal device agrees to receive it, the corresponding short message is sent to the first terminal device. This reduces the process of the first terminal device actively querying and can send the short message to the first terminal device more promptly.

[0257] Case 2: If Figure 13 As shown, the first terminal device is performing inbound services and refuses to receive short messages.

[0258] The converged short message gateway caches the short message sent by the short message center, and both the short message center and the converged short message gateway store the short message.

[0259] Step 1301: The converged short message gateway detects that the first terminal device sends a service message of an inbound service and the inbound service has not ended, and sends a prompt message of a short message to be received to the first terminal device.

[0260] Step 1302: The terminal sends a letter download rejection message to the converged short message gateway. The letter download rejection message is used to reject the reception of short messages.

[0261] Step 1303: The converged short message gateway caches the short message, sets a sending failure flag, and returns a sending failure report to the short message center.

[0262] The delivery failure report may indicate that the short message delivery failed.

[0263] Furthermore, the short message center sends a failure report to the HSS / UDM, and the HSS / UDM sets a user unreachable flag and records the short message center address.

[0264] In this case, the integrated short message gateway can directly send the short message arrival information to the first terminal device, and can send the short message arrival information to the first terminal device more timely, instead of the first terminal device actively querying before knowing that a short message has arrived.

[0265] Case 3: If Figure 14 As shown, after the converged short message gateway fails to send a short message, the first terminal device sends an inbound service and chooses to receive a short message.

[0266] The converged short message gateway caches the short message sent by the short message center, and both the short message center and the converged short message gateway store the short message.

[0267] Step 1401. The integrated short message gateway detects that the first terminal device sends a service message for an inbound service and the inbound service has not ended, and there is a sending failure flag of the first terminal device, clears the sending failure flag of the first terminal device, and sends a prompt message of the short message to be received to the first terminal device.

[0268] Step 1402: The first terminal device sends a letter download request message to the converged short message gateway, where the letter download request message is used to request to receive a short message.

[0269] Step 1403: The converged short message gateway sends the short message to the first terminal device.

[0270] Step 1404: The first terminal device receives the completion short message and replies to the inbound application receipt based on the result.

[0271] Step 1405: The converged short message gateway deletes the cached short message and sends a short message delivery report to the short message center.

[0272] The report information is used to indicate whether the short message is sent successfully. If the short message is sent successfully, the report information can also be used to notify the short message center to delete the short message that has been successfully received.

[0273] Step 1406: The short message center sends a short message delivery report to the HSS / UDM.

[0274] If the short message is sent successfully, the short message center deletes the short message cached by the terminal.

[0275] Furthermore, the HSS / UDM clears the user unreachable flag.

[0276] In this scenario, after the converged short message gateway receives a short message addressed to the first terminal device, the first terminal device has not yet aligned with the satellite to send services within the satellite communication system. Therefore, the converged short message gateway cannot detect the first terminal device and sets a corresponding flag. When the first terminal device subsequently sends inbound services to the converged short message gateway, the converged short message gateway detects the flag, recognizes the incoming short message from the user, and sends a short message notification to the user. This solution allows the first terminal device to be notified of incoming short messages and to choose to receive them without actively querying for them.

[0277] Case 4: If Figure 15 As shown, after the converged short message gateway fails to send the short message, the first terminal device sends an inbound service and refuses to receive the short message.

[0278] The converged short message gateway caches the short message sent by the short message center, and both the short message center and the converged short message gateway store the short message.

[0279] Step 1501. The integrated short message gateway detects that the first terminal device sends a service message of an inbound service and the inbound service has not ended, and the first terminal device has a sending failure flag, clears the sending failure flag of the first terminal device, and sends a prompt message of the short message to be received to the first terminal device.

[0280] Step 1502: The first terminal device sends a letter download rejection message to the converged short message gateway. The letter download rejection message is used to reject the reception of short messages.

[0281] Step 1503: The converged short message gateway caches the short message and sets a sending failure flag.

[0282] In this case, the first terminal device can know that a short message has arrived without actively querying the short message.

[0283] Through the method provided by this application, a first terminal device that has activated the Beidou satellite service can receive short messages in an area without cellular coverage. The first terminal device can know that its short message is waiting to be received without querying, reducing the signaling interaction between the first terminal device and the converged short message gateway.

[0284] In the embodiments provided above, the methods provided in the embodiments of the present application are described from the perspective of interaction between various devices. In order to implement the various functions in the methods provided in the embodiments of the present application, the access network device or the terminal device may include a hardware structure and / or a software module, and implement the above functions in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module. Whether a function of the above functions is executed in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0285] The division of modules in the embodiments of the present application is illustrative and is merely a logical functional division. In actual implementation, other division methods may be used. Furthermore, the functional modules in the various embodiments of the present application may be integrated into a single processor, or may exist physically separately, or two or more modules may be integrated into a single module. The aforementioned integrated modules may be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional modules.

[0286] Same as above idea, Figure 16As shown, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device 1600 for implementing the functions of the access network device or terminal device in the above method. The form of the communication device is not limited and can be a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module. For example, the device can be a software module or a chip system. In the embodiment of the present application, the chip system can be composed of a chip, or can include a chip and other discrete devices. The device 1600 may include: a processing unit 1601 and a communication unit 1602.

[0287] In an embodiment of the present application, the communication unit may also be referred to as a transceiver unit, and may include a sending unit and / or a receiving unit, which are respectively used to execute the sending and receiving steps performed by the access network device, AI entity or terminal device in the above method embodiment.

[0288] The following, combined Figures 16 and 17 The communication device provided in the embodiment of the present application is described in detail. It should be understood that the description of the device embodiment corresponds to the description of the method embodiment, so that the contents not described in detail can be referred to the method embodiment above, and for the sake of brevity, they are not repeated here.

[0289] The communication unit may also be referred to as a transceiver. The processing unit may also be referred to as a processing module, processing device, etc. Optionally, the device in communication unit 1602 that implements the receiving function may be considered a receiving unit, and the device in communication unit 1602 that implements the transmitting function may be considered a transmitting unit, i.e., communication unit 1602 includes both a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. The communication unit may sometimes be implemented as a pin, a transceiver, a transceiver, or a transceiver circuit. The processing unit may sometimes be implemented as a processor or a processing board. The receiving unit may sometimes be implemented as a pin, a receiver, a receiver, or a receiving circuit. The transmitting unit may sometimes be implemented as a pin, a transmitter, a transmitter, or a transmitting circuit.

[0290] When the communication device 1600 performs the functions of the terminal device in the above embodiment:

[0291] A communication unit is configured to send a first message to a gateway device via a satellite, wherein the first message is a service message of an inbound service; and receive a second message from the gateway device via the satellite, wherein the second message includes message content sent by a second terminal device to the first terminal device in a cellular system or a satellite communication system.

[0292] The communication device 1600 can also perform its functions. For details, please refer to the previous description and will not be repeated here.

[0293] When the communication device 1600 performs the function of the gateway device in the above embodiment:

[0294] A communication unit is configured to receive a first message from a first terminal device via a satellite, wherein the first message is a service message of an inbound service; and to send a second message to the first terminal device via the satellite, wherein the second message includes message content sent by the second terminal device to the first terminal device in a cellular system or a satellite communication system.

[0295] When the communication device 1600 performs the functions of the message management device in the above embodiment:

[0296] A communication unit, configured to receive third indication information from a core network device, wherein the third indication information is used to indicate that the first terminal device supports a short message service of a satellite communication system;

[0297] A second message is sent to the first terminal device via a gateway device in a satellite communication system, where the second message includes message content sent by the second terminal device to the first terminal device in a cellular system or a satellite communication system.

[0298] The above is just an example. The processing unit 1601 and the communication unit 1602 can also perform other functions. For more detailed description, please refer to Figures 4 to 15 The relevant descriptions in the method embodiment shown are not repeated here.

[0299] like Figure 17 The device 1700 provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown. Figure 17 The device shown can be Figure 16 The communication device can be applied to the flowchart shown above to perform the functions of the terminal device or access network device in the above method embodiment. For the convenience of explanation, Figure 17 Only the main components of the communication device are shown.

[0300] like Figure 17 As shown, communication device 1700 includes a processor 1710 and an interface circuit 1720. Processor 1710 and interface circuit 1720 are coupled to each other. It will be understood that interface circuit 1720 can be a transceiver, a pin, an interface circuit, or an input / output interface. Optionally, communication device 1700 may also include a memory 1730 for storing instructions executed by processor 1710, or storing input data required by processor 1710 to execute instructions, or storing data generated after processor 1710 executes instructions. Optionally, part or all of memory 1730 may be located in processor 1710.

[0301] When the communication device 1700 is used to implement Figures 4 to 15 In any of the methods shown, the processor 1710 is used to implement the functions of the processing unit 1601, and the interface circuit 1720 is used to implement the functions of the communication unit 1602.

[0302] When the communication device is a chip used in a terminal device, the terminal device chip implements the functions of the terminal device in the above method embodiments. The terminal device chip receives information from other modules in the terminal device (such as a radio frequency module or antenna), and the information is sent by the access network device to the terminal device; or the terminal device chip sends information to other modules in the terminal device (such as a radio frequency module or antenna), and the information is sent by the terminal device to the access network device.

[0303] When the communication device is a chip used in a gateway device, the gateway device chip implements the functions of the gateway device in the above method embodiment. The gateway device chip receives information from other modules in the gateway device; or the gateway device chip sends information to other modules in the gateway device.

[0304] When the communication device is a chip used in a message management device, the message management device chip implements the functions of the message management device in the above method embodiment. The message management device chip receives information from other modules in the message management device; or the message management device chip sends information to other modules in the message management device.

[0305] It is understood that the processor in the present disclosure may be a central processing unit, or may be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors, application-specific integrated circuits, or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0306] The memory in the present disclosure may be a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, an erasable programmable read-only memory, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, a register, a hard disk, a mobile hard disk, or any other form of storage medium known in the art.

[0307] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the embodiments of the present application can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, the present application can adopt the form of a complete hardware embodiment, a complete software embodiment, or an embodiment in combination with software and hardware. Moreover, the present application can adopt the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to magnetic disk storage, optical storage, etc.) that contain computer-usable program code.

[0308] The present application is described with reference to the flowcharts and / or block diagrams of the methods, devices (systems), and computer program products according to the present application. It should be understood that each process and / or block in the flowchart and / or block diagram, as well as the combination of processes and / or blocks in the flowchart and / or block diagram, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device generate instructions for implementing the processes in the flowchart and / or block diagram. Figure 1 a process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A device that provides the functions specified in a block or multiple blocks.

[0309] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to work in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer readable memory produce an article of manufacture comprising an instruction device, which implements the process Figure 1 a process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 The function specified in one or more boxes.

[0310] Obviously, those skilled in the art may make various changes and modifications to the present application without departing from the scope of the present application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A message transmission method, characterized in that: Applied to the first terminal device, including: sending a first message to the gateway device via the satellite, where the first message is a service message for an inbound service; the first message is used to indicate that the first terminal device has completed the satellite alignment process; and the first terminal device is not connected to a cellular network; A second message is received from the gateway device via the satellite, where the second message includes message content sent by the second terminal device to the first terminal device in a cellular system or a satellite communication system.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that Before receiving the second message from the gateway device via the satellite, the method further includes: First indication information is received from the gateway device via the satellite, where the first indication information is used to indicate that there are one or more messages to be received by the first terminal device, and the one or more messages include the second message.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The first indication information is also used to indicate the identifier of the second terminal device.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that Before receiving the second message from the gateway device via the satellite, the method further includes: A third message is sent to the gateway device, where the third message is used to request receipt of a message from the second terminal device.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Second indication information is sent to the gateway device via the satellite, where the second indication information is used to indicate a reception result of the second message.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Send third indication information to the core network device, where the third indication information is used to indicate that the first terminal device supports the satellite communication system short message service.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Send the location information of the first terminal device to the gateway device.

8. A message transmission method, characterized in that: Applicable to gateway devices, including: receiving a first message from a first terminal device via a satellite, where the first message is a service message of an inbound service; the first terminal device is not connected to a cellular network; According to the first message, it is determined that the first terminal device has completed the satellite alignment process, and a second message is sent to the first terminal device via the satellite. The second message includes the message content sent by the second terminal device to the first terminal device under the cellular system or the satellite communication system.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The method further comprises: A second request message is received from a message management device, where the second request message includes the message content included in the second message, and the second request message is used to request that the message content included in the second message be sent to the first terminal device.

10. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 9, characterized in that: The sending the second message to the first terminal device through the satellite includes: The second message and second information are sent to a satellite ground station, where the second information is used to instruct the satellite ground station to send the second message to the first terminal device via the satellite.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The method further includes receiving at least one of the following from a message management device: an identifier of the satellite, wherein the first terminal device is located within a signal coverage area of ​​the satellite; An identifier of a beam, where the beam is the beam used by the satellite to send the second message to the first terminal device.

12. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 9, characterized in that: Before sending the second message to the first terminal device via the satellite, the method further includes: First indication information is sent to the first terminal device via the satellite, where the first indication information is used to indicate that there are one or more messages to be received by the first terminal device, and the one or more messages include the second message.

13. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 9, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Receive second indication information from the first terminal device, where the second indication information is used to indicate a reception result of the second message.

14. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 9, characterized in that: The method further comprises: receiving location information from the first terminal device; Forward the location information of the first terminal device to the core network device.

15. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device comprises a processor and a memory; the memory is used to store one or more computer programs, and the one or more computer programs include computer execution instructions. When the communication device is running, the processor executes the one or more computer programs stored in the memory, so that the communication device performs the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

16. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device comprises a processor and a memory; the memory is used to store one or more computer programs, and the one or more computer programs include computer execution instructions. When the communication device is running, the processor executes the one or more computer programs stored in the memory, so that the communication device performs the method according to any one of claims 8 to 14.

17. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The computer-readable storage medium is used to store a computer program. When the computer program is run on a computer, the computer is enabled to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7 or the method according to any one of claims 8 to 14.

18. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises a computer program, and 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 7, or the computer is caused to execute the method according to any one of claims 8 to 14.

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