Capability indication, determination method and apparatus, communication apparatus, and storage medium

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a capability indication method, a determining method and apparatus, a communication apparatus and a storage medium, wherein the capability indication method comprises: sending capability indication information to a network side device, the capability indication information being used to indicate whether the terminal can perform multi-SIM card connection switching. According to the present disclosure, the terminal can send the capability indication information to the network side device, so that the network side device can determine whether the terminal can perform multi-SIM card connection switching according to the capability indication information, so that the network side device can make appropriate configuration for the terminal.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the technical field of communication, and in particular, to a capability indication method, a capability determination method, a capability indication apparatus, a capability determination apparatus, a communication apparatus, and a computer readable storage medium. BACKGROUND

[0002] In a multi-card terminal, multiple SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) cards can be provided, and the terminal can communicate through the multiple SIM cards. For example, a terminal is provided with a SIM card #1 and a SIM card #2, and the terminal can perform a communication operation using the SIM card #1 or perform a communication operation using the SIM card #2.

[0003] However, in some scenarios, the terminal needs to use the SIM card #2 to communicate while using the SIM card #1 to communicate, which requires the terminal to perform multi-SIM card connection switching from using the SIM card #1 to communicate to using the SIM card #2 to communicate. However, the capabilities of different terminals are different. If all terminals are assumed to support multi-SIM card connection switching by default, it may cause problems when the base station configures for terminals that do not support multi-SIM card connection switching. SUMMARY

[0004] Therefore, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a capability indication method, a capability determination method, a capability indication apparatus, a capability determination apparatus, a communication apparatus, and a computer readable storage medium to solve the technical problems in the related art.

[0005] According to a first aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, a capability indication method is provided, which is performed by a terminal, and the method comprises: sending capability indication information to a network side device, the capability indication information being used to indicate whether the terminal can perform multi-SIM card connection switching.

[0006] According to a second aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, a capability determination method is provided, which is performed by a network side device, and the method comprises: receiving capability indication information sent by a terminal; and determining, according to the capability indication information, whether the terminal can perform multi-SIM card connection switching.

[0007] According to a third aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, a capability indication apparatus is provided, which comprises one or more processors, and the processor is configured to perform: sending capability indication information to a network side device, the capability indication information being used to indicate whether the terminal can perform multi-SIM card connection switching.

[0008] According to a fourth aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a capability determination apparatus is provided, comprising one or more processors configured to perform: receiving capability indication information sent by a terminal; determining whether the terminal is capable of multi-SIM connection handover according to the capability indication information.

[0009] According to a fifth aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a communication apparatus is provided, comprising: a processor; a memory for storing a computer program; wherein when the computer program is executed by the processor, the above-mentioned capability indication method is implemented.

[0010] According to a sixth aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a communication apparatus is provided, comprising: a processor; a memory for storing a computer program; wherein when the computer program is executed by the processor, the above-mentioned capability determination method is implemented.

[0011] According to a seventh aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a computer readable storage medium is provided, for storing a computer program, which is executed by a processor to implement the steps of the above-mentioned capability indication method.

[0012] According to an eighth aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a computer readable storage medium is provided, for storing a computer program, which is executed by a processor to implement the steps of the above-mentioned capability determination method.

[0013] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the terminal can send capability indication information to the network side device, so that the network side device can determine whether the terminal is capable of multi-SIM connection handover according to the capability indication information, so that the network side device can make appropriate configuration for the terminal. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0014] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the drawings needed to be used in the embodiments will be briefly introduced as follows. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present disclosure, and other drawings can be obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor.

[0015] Figure 1 is a schematic flow chart of a capability indication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0016] Figure 2 is a schematic flow chart of another capability indication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0017] Figure 3 is a schematic flow chart of still another capability indication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0018] Figure 4is a schematic flowchart of yet another capability indication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0019] Figure 5 is a schematic flowchart of a capability determination method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0020] Figure 6 is a schematic flowchart of another capability determination method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0021] Figure 7 is a schematic flowchart of yet another capability determination method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0022] Figure 8 is a schematic flowchart of yet another capability determination method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0023] Figure 9 is a schematic flowchart of yet another capability determination method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0024] Figure 10 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus for capability determination according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0025] Figure 11 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus for capability indication according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present disclosure, rather than all the embodiments of the present disclosure. Based on the embodiments in the present disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by a person of ordinary skill in the art without creative work fall within the protection scope of the present disclosure.

[0027] The terms used in the embodiments of the present disclosure are merely for the purpose of describing particular embodiments, and are not intended to limit the embodiments of the present disclosure. The singular forms "a", "an" and "the" used in the embodiments of the present disclosure and the appended claims are intended to include plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the term "and / or" used herein refers to and includes any or all possible combinations of one or more associated listed items.

[0028] It should be understood that, although the terms first, second, third, etc. can be employed in describing various information in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one type of information from another type of information. For example, without departing from the scope of the embodiments of the present disclosure, first information can also be referred to as second information, and similarly, second information can also be referred to as first information. Depending on the context, the word "if" as used herein can be interpreted as "when" or "upon" or "in response to determining".

[0029] For the purpose of brevity and ease of understanding, the terms "greater than" or "less than", "higher than" or "lower than" are used herein when characterizing the size relationship. However, it can be understood by those skilled in the art that the term "greater than" also covers the meaning of "greater than or equal to", and the term "less than" also covers the meaning of "less than or equal to"; the term "higher than" covers the meaning of "higher than or equal to", and the term "lower than" covers the meaning of "lower than or equal to".

[0030] Figure 1 is a schematic flow chart of a capability indication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The capability indication method shown in the embodiment can be performed by a terminal, which includes but is not limited to a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a wearable device, a sensor, an Internet of Things device, and the like. The terminal can communicate with a network side device as a user equipment, which includes but is not limited to a network side device in a 4G, 5G, 6G, and the like communication system, such as a base station, a core network, and the like.

[0031] In one embodiment, the terminal can be provided with multiple SIM cards, which can be traditional SIM cards or eSIM cards, i.e. embedded SIM cards.

[0032] The technical solutions of the present disclosure are exemplarily illustrated below mainly in the case where the multiple SIM cards include a first SIM card and a second SIM card. The first SIM card and the second SIM card are not specific to a certain SIM card, but are used to represent any two different SIM cards in the multiple SIM cards. The first SIM card and the second SIM card can belong to the same operator or belong to different operators, which can be selected as needed.

[0033] As shown in Figure 1 The capability indication method can include the following steps:

[0034] In step S101, capability indication information is sent to a network side device, the capability indication information being used to indicate whether the terminal can perform multi-SIM card connection switching.

[0035] In one embodiment, in the case that a plurality of SIM cards are provided in the terminal, the plurality of SIM cards at least including a first SIM card and a second SIM card, the multi-SIM connection switching includes switching to the second SIM card to perform the communication operation when the communication operation is performed through the first SIM card (in this case, the communication operation performed by the first SIM card can be interrupted). It should be noted that the multi-SIM connection switching is not limited to the above case, and for example, can also include starting the second SIM card to perform the communication operation at the same time when the communication operation is performed through the first SIM card (in this case, the communication operation performed by the first SIM card can not be interrupted). The technical solutions of the present disclosure are exemplarily described below mainly in the case that the multi-SIM connection switching includes switching to the second SIM card to perform the communication operation when the communication operation is performed through the first SIM card.

[0036] In one embodiment, when the terminal performs the communication operation using the first SIM card, a situation that the second SIM card needs to be used for communication may occur, for example, the second SIM card needs to be used to receive system messages, receive paging signaling, etc., and then the terminal needs to be switched to the second SIM card to perform the communication operation. However, not all terminals support multi-SIM connection switching.

[0037] For example, some terminals can switch to the second SIM card to perform the communication operation when it is determined that the second SIM card needs to be used for communication when the communication operation is performed through the first SIM card, that is, the multi-SIM connection switching is supported. However, some terminals cannot switch to the second SIM card to perform the communication operation when it is determined that the second SIM card needs to be used for communication when the communication operation is performed through the first SIM card, and need to wait until the communication operation of the first SIM card is completed before switching to the second SIM card to perform the communication operation, that is, the multi-SIM connection switching is not supported.

[0038] For terminals with different multi-SIM connection switching support, the configuration made by the base station for the SIM card can be different. For example, for a terminal that supports multi-SIM connection switching, the resources configured by the base station for the first SIM card can be until the terminal switches to the second SIM card, and for a terminal that does not support multi-SIM connection switching, the resources configured by the base station for the first SIM card can be until the communication operation of the first SIM card is completed.

[0039] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the terminal can send the capability indication information to the network side device, so that the network side device can determine whether the terminal can perform multi-SIM connection switching according to the capability indication information, so that the network side device, such as the base station or the core network, can make appropriate configuration for the terminal.

[0040] In an embodiment, the sending the capability indication information to the network side device comprises: sending the capability indication information to the network side device in a process of establishing a communication connection with the network side device.

[0041] The terminal can send the capability indication information to the network side device in a process of establishing a communication connection with the network side device, for example, the network side device is a core network, and the communication connection can be a Non-Access Stratum (NAS) connection, or the network side device is a base station, and the communication connection can be an Access Stratum (AS) connection.

[0042] Taking the network side device as a base station as an example, the access layer connection can be a RRC (Radio Resource Control) connection, that is, the terminal can send the capability indication information to the base station in a process of establishing a RRC communication connection with the base station, for example, sending the capability information to the base station through Msg1, Msg3, Msg5 and the like in a random access process.

[0043] In an embodiment, the network side device comprises an evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) network side device, and the capability indication information is carried in at least one of the following:

[0044] a RRCConnectionSetupComplete signaling;

[0045] a RRCConnectionResumeComplete signaling;

[0046] a RRCConnectionReestablishmentComplete signaling.

[0047] Taking the RRCConnectionSetupComplete signaling as an example, the signaling carrying the capability indication information can be as follows:

[0048]

[0049] wherein ENUMERATED{true} indicates that the terminal can perform multi-SIM card connection switching.

[0050] In an embodiment, the network side device comprises a New Radio (NR) network side device, and the capability indication information is carried in at least one of the following:

[0051] Radio Resource Control (RRC) setup complete signaling;

[0052] Radio resource control recovery complete RRCResumeComplete signaling;

[0053] Radio Resource Control Re-establishment Complete (RRC) signaling.

[0054] Figure 2 This is a schematic flowchart illustrating another capability indication method according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 2 As shown, the method further includes:

[0055] In step S201, a capability reporting request sent by the network-side device is received;

[0056] In step S202, the terminal's ability to switch between multiple SIM card connections is sent to the network-side device.

[0057] In one embodiment, after receiving the capability indication information sent by the terminal, if the network-side device determines that the terminal is capable of switching between multiple SIM cards, it can send a capability reporting request to the terminal as needed, requesting the terminal to report its capability of switching between multiple SIM cards to the network-side device. After receiving the capability reporting request, the terminal can report its capability of switching between multiple SIM cards to the network-side device, so that the network-side device can subsequently configure the terminal accordingly based on its capability of switching between multiple SIM cards.

[0058] In one embodiment, after receiving the capability reporting request, the terminal can further determine whether the network-side device supports configuring multi-SIM card connection switching. For example, it can determine this based on system information broadcast by the network-side device. If the network-side device supports configuring multi-SIM card connection switching, the terminal's ability to perform multi-SIM card connection switching will be reported to the network-side device. If the network-side device does not support configuring multi-SIM card connection switching, the terminal's ability to perform multi-SIM card connection switching will not be reported to the network-side device, which helps to avoid wasting resources.

[0059] In one embodiment, the network-side device can send the capability reporting request to the terminal by carrying it in the User Equipment Information Request (UEInformationRequest) signaling. For example, a new information element (IE) can be added to the UEInformationRequest signaling to carry the capability reporting request.

[0060] The added new IE can be a BOOLEAN or an enumerated type IE containing a true value.

[0061] The content of the BOOLEAN IE can be as follows:

[0062]

[0063] The content of the enumerated type IE containing a true value can be as follows:

[0064]

[0065]

[0066] However, in the case where the terminal determines to support the multi-SIM card connection switching, the specific supported multi-SIM card connection switching capability can be different for different terminals, that is, different terminals can have different specific support for the multi-SIM card connection switching. In addition, different network side devices can have different specific support for the multi-SIM card connection switching.

[0067] In one embodiment, the capability of the terminal to perform the multi-SIM card connection switching includes whether the terminal can perform the multi-SIM card connection switching when a first condition is met, wherein the first condition includes at least one of the following:

[0068] The first SIM card leaves the connected state; and the first SIM card remains in the connected state.

[0069] For example, some terminals only support multi-SIM card connection switching when the first SIM card leaves the connected state, that is, when the communication operation is performed through the first SIM card, if it is needed to switch to the second SIM card to perform the communication operation, the first SIM card needs to leave the connected state to switch to the second SIM card to perform the communication operation.

[0070] For example, some terminals only support multi-SIM card connection switching when the first SIM card remains in the connected state, that is, when the communication operation is performed through the first SIM card, if it is needed to switch to the second SIM card to perform the communication operation, the first SIM card can still remain in the connected state to switch to the second SIM card to perform the communication operation.

[0071] It can be seen that the specific support of the multi-SIM card connection switching for different terminals is different, that is, the capability of the multi-SIM card connection switching is different.

[0072] According to the embodiment, the terminal can report the capability of performing the multi-SIM card connection switching to the network side device, so that the network side device can determine the specific support of the terminal for the multi-SIM card connection switching, and then make appropriate configuration for the terminal, which is beneficial to efficient use of communication resources.

[0073] For example, the network side device determines, according to the capability information reported by the terminal, that the terminal supports switching to the second SIM card for communication operation in the case that the first SIM card leaves the connected state, and does not support switching to the second SIM card for communication operation in the case that the first SIM card remains in the connected state. Then, the configuration of the first SIM card for communication operation can be determined according to the configuration of the second SIM card for communication operation.

[0074] For example, it can be determined that the time domain resources required by the second SIM card for communication operation are t1 to t2. When configuring the time domain resources for the first SIM card for communication operation, time domain resources other than t1 to t2 can be configured, so as to avoid the terminal switching from the first SIM card to the second SIM card for communication between t1 and t2, which causes the waste of the resources configured for the first SIM card during this period.

[0075] For example, the network side device determines, according to the capability reported by the terminal, that the terminal supports switching to the second SIM card for communication operation in the case that the first SIM card remains in the connected state. When determining that the terminal uses the second SIM card for communication operation, the context of the first SIM card for communication operation can still be retained, so as to quickly recover the communication with the first SIM card. Of course, it should be understood that deleting the context of the first SIM card for communication operation to reduce the occupation of the storage space of the network side device is also possible.

[0076] In one embodiment, the first SIM card leaving the connected state includes that the first SIM card leaves the connected state based on an access layer; and / or the first SIM card leaves the connected state based on a non-access layer.

[0077] That is, the first SIM leaving the connected state can be leaving the connected state according to the indication of the access layer signaling, such as leaving the connected state according to the signaling sent by the base station, or leaving the connected state according to the signaling of the non-access layer, such as leaving the connected state according to the signaling sent by the core network.

[0078] In one embodiment, the first SIM card remaining in the connected state includes that the first SIM card remains in the connected state based on an access layer; and / or the first SIM card remains in the connected state based on a non-access layer.

[0079] That is, the first SIM card remains in the connected state, which can be maintained in the connected state according to the indication of the access layer signaling, for example, maintained in the connected state according to the signaling sent by the base station, or maintained in the connected state according to the non-access layer signaling, for example, maintained in the connected state according to the signaling sent by the core network.

[0080] Figure 3 is a schematic flow chart of another capability indication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 3 In one embodiment, the sending, to the network side device, of the capability of the terminal to perform multi-SIM card connection switching includes:

[0081] In step S301, the second condition is determined according to the capability reporting request;

[0082] In step S302, when the terminal has the capability to perform multi-SIM card connection switching under the condition of meeting the second condition, the capability of the terminal to perform multi-SIM card connection switching is sent to the network side device.

[0083] In one embodiment, the network side can determine the second condition as needed and send the second condition to the terminal in the capability reporting request. The terminal can report the capability to the network side device according to the second condition in the case that the second condition exists in the capability reporting request, for example, it can be determined whether the terminal can perform multi-SIM card connection switching under the condition of meeting the second condition. In response to the terminal being able to perform multi-SIM card connection switching under the condition of meeting the second condition, the capability of the terminal to perform multi-SIM card connection switching is reported to the network side device, and in response to the terminal being unable to perform multi-SIM card connection switching under the condition of meeting the second condition, the capability of the terminal to perform multi-SIM card connection switching does not need to be reported to the network side device. Accordingly, the network side device can flexibly configure the terminal to report the capability of multi-SIM card connection switching, and communication resources are saved.

[0084] For example, the IE carrying the second condition in the UEInformationRequest signaling can be as follows:

[0085]

[0086] Wherein, muSIMSwitchingInfoReportConfig-r17 represents the second condition.

[0087] In one embodiment, the second condition can be partially or wholly the same as the first condition, or can be completely different, which can be set as needed. For example, when the network side device supports the terminal to perform multi-SIM card connection switching under the condition of meeting the target condition, the terminal is configured, and then the second condition can be set to include the target condition.

[0088] For example, the target condition is that the first SIM card remains in the connected state, and the second condition includes the target condition. After the terminal determines the second condition, if the multi-SIM card connection switching is performed in the case that the first SIM card remains in the connected state, the terminal can send the capability of performing the multi-SIM card connection switching to the network side device; if the multi-SIM card connection switching is performed in the case that the first SIM card does not remain in the connected state, the terminal does not need to send the capability of performing the multi-SIM card connection switching to the network side device, because in this case, even if the capability is reported, the network side device cannot make appropriate configuration to the terminal, thereby avoiding waste of communication resources.

[0089] Figure 4 is a schematic flowchart of another capability indication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in the figure, in one embodiment, the method further includes: Figure 4

[0090] In step S401, the configuration signaling sent by the network side is received.

[0091] In step S402, the configuration information is determined according to the configuration information to report the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching to the network side device.

[0092] In one embodiment, after the terminal reports the capability information to the network side device, the terminal can also report the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching to the network side device when performing the multi-SIM card connection switching. In this case, after the network side device receives the capability information, the network side device can send configuration signaling, such as radio resource control reconfiguration signaling, to the terminal, and the corresponding configuration is carried in the configuration signaling. The configuration can include time domain resources and / or frequency domain resources, and the terminal can report the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching based on the configuration.

[0093] In one embodiment, the configuration indication can be carried in the configuration signaling, which is used to indicate the sub-signaling in the configuration signaling for carrying the configuration. Taking the RRC reconfiguration signaling as the configuration signaling for example, the configuration can be carried in the OtherConfig signaling of the RRC reconfiguration signaling, and then the terminal can be informed by the configuration indication to obtain the configuration in the OtherConfig signaling of the RRC reconfiguration signaling.

[0094] In one embodiment, the method further includes reporting the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching to the network side device according to the configuration, for example, the reporting can be performed through the UEInformationResponse signaling. Wherein, the terminal reports the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching, which can be reported when the terminal is about to perform the multi-SIM card connection switching, or can be reported in the process of performing the multi-SIM card connection switching.​

[0095] In an embodiment, the information of the multi-SIM connection switching reported by the terminal comprises at least one of:

[0096] information to be switched to the second SIM card during the multi-SIM connection switching process of the terminal, for example, an identifier of the second SIM card;

[0097] information of a communication operation performed after switching to the second SIM card, for example, a type of the communication operation performed after switching to the second SIM card, a duration of the communication operation, and the like.

[0098] In an embodiment, the configuration comprises at least one of:

[0099] whether the terminal is allowed to report the information of the multi-SIM connection switching;

[0100] whether the terminal is allowed to report the information of the multi-SIM connection switching satisfying a third condition;

[0101] a duration of a blocking timer of the terminal for reporting the information of the multi-SIM connection switching;

[0102] a fourth condition of the terminal for blocking the reporting of the information of the multi-SIM connection switching by using the blocking timer;

[0103] a support capability of the network-side device for the multi-SIM connection switching of the terminal.

[0104] In an embodiment, the network-side device can make various configurations for the terminal to report the information of the multi-SIM connection switching as needed, and the configurations can indicate how the terminal reports the information of the multi-SIM connection switching.

[0105] In an embodiment, the method further comprises reporting the information of the multi-SIM connection switching to the network-side device according to the configuration. When the terminal performs the multi-SIM connection switching, the terminal can report the information of the multi-SIM connection switching to the network-side device according to the configuration of the network-side device.

[0106] For example, the network-side device can configure whether the terminal is allowed to report the information of the multi-SIM connection switching. If the terminal determines according to the configuration that the reporting of the information of the multi-SIM connection switching is allowed, the terminal can report the information of the multi-SIM connection switching. In this case, the configuration can further indicate time domain resources and frequency domain resources for the terminal to report. If the terminal determines according to the configuration that the reporting of the information of the multi-SIM connection switching is not allowed, the terminal does not report the information of the multi-SIM connection switching.

[0107] For example, the network-side device can configure whether to allow the terminal to report the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching meeting the third condition, that is, the network-side device can further limit the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching meeting the third condition in the case of configuring to allow the terminal to report the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching, for example, the third condition and an indication bit can be carried in the configuration, and the indication bit is 1, indicating that the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching meeting the second condition is allowed to be reported, and the indication bit is 0, indicating that the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching meeting the second condition is not allowed to be reported.

[0108] When the terminal determines according to the configuration that the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching meeting the third condition is allowed to be reported, the terminal can report the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching to the network-side device when the multi-SIM card connection switching meeting the third condition is performed; when the terminal determines according to the configuration that the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching meeting the third condition is not allowed to be reported, the terminal does not have to report the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching to the network-side device when the multi-SIM card connection switching meeting the third condition is performed, and can report the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching to the network-side device when the multi-SIM card connection switching meeting other conditions is performed.

[0109] For example, the network-side device can configure the duration of the blocking timer for the terminal to report the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching, and further can configure the duration of the blocking timer for the terminal to report the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching when the multi-SIM card connection switching meets the third condition, and can respectively set the duration of the blocking timer for the multi-SIM card connection switching meeting different conditions for blocking the reporting. After the terminal determines the duration of the blocking timer according to the configuration, the terminal can start the blocking timer when reporting the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching to the network-side device, and will not report the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching again within the duration of the blocking timer, that is, before the duration of the blocking timer expires.

[0110] On this basis, the network-side device can further configure a fourth condition for the terminal to use the blocking timer, and the terminal uses the blocking timer only when the fourth condition is met, and does not use the blocking timer when the fourth condition is not met. For example, the fourth condition includes a first target type of the first SIM card performing a communication operation, a second target type of the second SIM card performing a communication operation, etc., so that the terminal uses the blocking timer when the type of the first SIM card performing a communication operation is the first target type and / or the type of the second SIM card performing a communication operation is the second target type, and does not use the blocking timer otherwise.

[0111] It should be noted that the third condition and the fourth condition can be set as needed, and can be the same condition as the first condition or a different condition from the first condition. For example, the third condition includes at least one of the following: the first SIM card leaves the connected state, and the first SIM card remains in the connected state. For example, the fourth condition includes at least one of the following: the terminal is performing or will perform the multi-SIM connection switching.

[0112] In addition, the performance of the network side device is also different, and the support capability of different network side devices for the terminal to perform the multi-SIM connection switching can also be different. For example, some network side devices support the terminal to perform the multi-SIM connection switching when the first SIM card leaves the connected state, and some network side devices support the terminal to perform the multi-SIM connection switching when the first SIM card remains in the connected state. Therefore, the network side device can carry the support capability in the configuration and send it to the terminal, so that the terminal decides whether to report the information of the multi-SIM connection switching according to the configuration.

[0113] For example, in the case of determining that the network side device only supports the terminal to perform the multi-SIM connection switching when the first SIM card remains in the connected state, the terminal does not need to report the information of the multi-SIM connection switching when the first SIM card leaves the connected state, so as to avoid wasting communication resources (because in this case, even if the information of the multi-SIM connection switching is reported, the network side device cannot make reasonable configuration for the process of the multi-SIM connection switching of the terminal), and the terminal can report the information of the multi-SIM connection switching when the first SIM card remains in the connected state.

[0114] In one embodiment, the information of the multi-SIM connection switching reported by the terminal includes at least one of the following:

[0115] In the process of the multi-SIM connection switching of the terminal, information of a second SIM card to be switched to, for example, an identifier of the second SIM card;

[0116] Information of a communication operation performed after the switching to the second SIM card, for example, a type of the communication operation performed after the switching to the second SIM card, a time length of the communication operation, and the like.

[0117] In an embodiment, after the network-side device receives the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching, the network-side device can make appropriate configuration for the process of the multi-SIM card connection switching of the terminal. For example, the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching includes the second type of the communication operation to be performed by the second SIM card after the switching. Since the first type of the communication operation being performed by the first SIM card is known to the network-side device, the network-side device can make appropriate configuration for the process of the multi-SIM card connection switching of the terminal based on the first type and the second type after determining the second type.

[0118] For example, the first type has a higher priority than the second type, and the network-side device can configure the terminal to not be allowed to switch to the second SIM card for communication. For example, the second type has a higher priority than the first type, and the network-side device can configure the terminal to be allowed to switch to the second SIM card for communication.

[0119] The first type and the second type can refer to service types, and the priority corresponding to the service types can be related to the allowed latency of the service types. For example, the lower the allowed latency, the higher the priority.

[0120] In addition to the above-mentioned manner of making configuration for the process of the multi-SIM card connection switching of the terminal, other manners can also be considered. For example, the allowed latency of the first type and the second type can be considered. For example, the allowed latency corresponding to the first type is relatively large, for example, greater than a latency threshold, and the network-side device can configure the terminal to be allowed to switch to the second SIM card for communication. For example, the allowed latency corresponding to the first type is relatively small, for example, less than a latency threshold, and the network-side device can configure the terminal to not be allowed to switch to the second SIM card for communication.

[0121] Figure 5 FIG. 1 is a schematic flowchart of a capability determination method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The capability determination method shown in the embodiment can be performed by a network-side device, such as a base station, a core network, etc. The network-side device can communicate with a terminal, such as a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a wearable device, a sensor, an Internet of Things device, etc. The network-side device can include a network-side device in a 4G, 5G, 6G, etc. communication system.

[0122] In an embodiment, the terminal can be provided with multiple SIM cards, which can be traditional SIM cards or eSIM cards, i.e., embedded SIM cards.

[0123] The technical solutions of the present disclosure are exemplarily described below mainly in the case that multiple SIM cards include a first SIM card and a second SIM card. The first SIM card and the second SIM card are not particularly specified to a certain SIM card, but are used to represent any two different SIM cards in the multiple SIM cards. The first SIM card and the second SIM card can belong to the same operator or belong to different operators, which can be selected as needed.

[0124] As shown in Figure 5 The capability determination method can include the following steps:

[0125] In step S501, the capability indication information sent by the terminal is received.

[0126] In step S502, it is determined according to the capability indication information whether the terminal can perform multi-SIM card connection switching.

[0127] In one embodiment, in the case that multiple SIM cards are provided in the terminal, and the multiple SIM cards include at least a first SIM card and a second SIM card, the multi-SIM card connection switching includes switching to the second SIM card to perform communication operation when the first SIM card performs communication operation (in this case, the communication operation performed by the first SIM card can be interrupted). It should be noted that the multi-SIM card connection switching is not limited to the above case, for example, it can also include starting the second SIM card to perform communication operation at the same time when the first SIM card performs communication operation (in this case, the communication operation performed by the first SIM card can not be interrupted). The technical solutions of the present disclosure are exemplarily described below mainly in the case that the multi-SIM card connection switching includes switching to the second SIM card to perform communication operation when the first SIM card performs communication operation.

[0128] In one embodiment, when the terminal performs communication operation using the first SIM card, a situation that the second SIM card needs to be used for communication may occur, for example, the second SIM card needs to be used to receive system messages, receive paging signaling, etc., so that the second SIM card needs to be switched to perform communication operation. However, not all terminals support multi-SIM card connection switching.

[0129] For example, some terminals can switch to the second SIM card to perform communication operation when it is determined that the second SIM card needs to be used for communication when the first SIM card performs communication operation, that is, the terminals can perform multi-SIM card connection switching. However, some terminals cannot switch to the second SIM card to perform communication operation when it is determined that the second SIM card needs to be used for communication when the first SIM card performs communication operation, and need to wait until the communication operation of the first SIM card is completed before switching to the second SIM card to perform communication operation, that is, the terminals cannot perform multi-SIM card connection switching.

[0130] For terminals with different support for multi-SIM connection switching, the base station can configure the resources for the SIM card differently. For example, if the terminal supports multi-SIM connection switching, the base station can configure the resources for the first SIM card until the terminal switches to the second SIM card. If the terminal does not support multi-SIM connection switching, the base station can configure the resources for the first SIM card until the first SIM card completes the communication operation.

[0131] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminal can send the capability indication information to the network side device, so that the network side device can determine whether the terminal can perform multi-SIM connection switching according to the capability indication information, so that the network side device, such as a base station or a core network, can make appropriate configuration for the terminal.

[0132] In one embodiment, the sending of the capability indication information to the network side device includes sending the capability indication information to the network side device in the process of establishing a communication connection with the network side device.

[0133] The terminal can send the capability indication information to the network side device in the process of establishing a communication connection with the network side device, such as a core network. The communication connection can be a non-access layer connection, such as a base station. The communication connection can be an access layer connection.

[0134] Taking the network side device as a base station as an example, the access layer connection can be an RRC connection, that is, the terminal can send the capability indication information to the base station in the process of establishing an RRC communication connection with the base station, such as sending the capability information to the base station in Msg1, Msg3, Msg5, etc. in the random access process.

[0135] Figure 6 is another capability determination method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 6 The method further includes:

[0136] In step S601, a capability reporting request is sent to the terminal to request the terminal to report the capability of the terminal for multi-SIM connection switching.

[0137] In one embodiment, after receiving the capability indication information sent by the terminal, if the network side device determines that the terminal can perform multi-SIM connection switching, the network side device can send a capability reporting request to the terminal as needed to request the terminal to report the capability of the terminal for multi-SIM connection switching to the network side device.

[0138] In an embodiment, the network-side device can send the capability reporting request to the terminal in a UEInformationRequest signaling, for example, a new information element (IE) can be added in the UEInformationRequest signaling to carry the capability reporting request.

[0139] However, in the case where the terminal determines to support the multi-SIM card connection switching, the specific supported multi-SIM card connection switching capability can be different for different terminals, that is, different terminals can have different specific support for the multi-SIM card connection switching.

[0140] In an embodiment, the capability of the terminal for the multi-SIM card connection switching includes whether the terminal can perform the multi-SIM card connection switching when a first condition is met, wherein the first condition includes at least one of the following:

[0141] The first SIM card leaves the connected state; and the first SIM card remains in the connected state.

[0142] For example, some terminals only support the multi-SIM card connection switching when the first SIM card leaves the connected state, that is, when the communication operation is performed through the first SIM card, if it is needed to switch to the second SIM card for communication operation, the first SIM card needs to leave the connected state to switch to the second SIM card for communication operation.

[0143] For example, some terminals only support the multi-SIM card connection switching when the first SIM card remains in the connected state, that is, when the communication operation is performed through the first SIM card, if it is needed to switch to the second SIM card for communication operation, the first SIM card can still remain in the connected state to switch to the second SIM card for communication operation.

[0144] It can be seen that the specific support for the multi-SIM card connection switching is different for different terminals, that is, the capability of the multi-SIM card connection switching is different.

[0145] According to the embodiment, the terminal can report the capability of the multi-SIM card connection switching to the network-side device, so that the network-side device can determine the specific support for the multi-SIM card connection switching of the terminal, and then make appropriate configuration for the terminal, which is beneficial to efficient use of communication resources.

[0146] For example, the network side device determines, according to the capability information reported by the terminal, that the terminal supports switching to the second SIM card for communication operation in the case that the first SIM card leaves the connected state, and does not support switching to the second SIM card for communication operation in the case that the first SIM card remains in the connected state. Then, the configuration of the first SIM card for communication operation can be determined according to the configuration of the second SIM card for communication operation.

[0147] For example, it can be determined that the time domain resources required by the second SIM card for communication operation are t1 to t2. When configuring the time domain resources for the first SIM card for communication operation, time domain resources other than t1 to t2 can be configured, so as to avoid the terminal switching from the first SIM card to the second SIM card for communication between t1 and t2, thereby causing the resources configured for the first SIM card to be wasted during this period.

[0148] For example, the network side device determines, according to the capability reported by the terminal, that the terminal supports switching to the second SIM card for communication operation in the case that the first SIM card remains in the connected state. Then, when determining that the terminal uses the second SIM card for communication operation, the context of the first SIM card for communication operation can still be retained, so as to quickly recover the communication with the first SIM card. It should be understood that the context of the first SIM card for communication operation can also be deleted, so as to reduce the occupation of the storage space of the network side device.

[0149] In one embodiment, the capability reporting request carries a second condition, which is used to indicate that the capability of the terminal for multi-SIM card connection switching is reported when the terminal has the capability of multi-SIM card connection switching under the condition that the second condition is met.

[0150] In one embodiment, the network side can determine the second condition as needed, and send the second condition to the terminal in the capability reporting request. The terminal can report the capability to the network side device according to the second condition when determining that the second condition is present in the capability reporting request. For example, it can be determined whether the terminal can perform multi-SIM card connection switching under the condition that the second condition is met. In response to the terminal being able to perform multi-SIM card connection switching under the condition that the second condition is met, the capability of the terminal for multi-SIM card connection switching can be reported to the network side device. In response to the terminal being unable to perform multi-SIM card connection switching under the condition that the second condition is met, the capability of the terminal for multi-SIM card connection switching does not need to be reported to the network side device. Accordingly, the network side device can flexibly configure the terminal to report the capability of multi-SIM card connection switching.

[0151] In one embodiment, the second condition can be partially or totally the same as the first condition, or totally different, which can be set as needed. For example, the network-side device supports the terminal to perform the multi-SIM card connection switching when the target condition is met, and the terminal is configured, and then the second condition can be set to include the target condition.

[0152] For example, the target condition is that the first SIM card remains in the connected state, and the second condition includes the target condition. After the terminal determines the second condition, the multi-SIM card connection switching is performed in the case that the first SIM card remains in the connected state, and then the terminal can send the capability of the terminal to perform the multi-SIM card connection switching to the network-side device; in the case that the first SIM card does not remain in the connected state, the terminal does not need to send the capability of the terminal to perform the multi-SIM card connection switching to the network-side device, because in this case, even if the capability is reported, the network-side device cannot make appropriate configuration to the terminal, so that the waste of communication resources can be avoided.

[0153] Figure 7 is a schematic flowchart of another capability determination method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 7 the method further includes:

[0154] In step S701, the capability of the terminal to perform the multi-SIM card connection switching reported by the terminal is received.

[0155] In one embodiment, the terminal can report the capability of the terminal to perform the multi-SIM card connection switching to the network-side device, and the network-side device can determine the capability of the terminal to perform the multi-SIM card connection switching according to the capability, for example, the terminal supports the multi-SIM card connection switching under which condition.

[0156] Figure 8 is a schematic flowchart of another capability determination method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 8 the method further includes:

[0157] In step S801, configuration signaling is sent to the terminal, and the configuration signaling is used to indicate the configuration of the terminal to report the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching to the network-side device.

[0158] In one embodiment, after the terminal reports the capability information to the network-side device, the terminal can also report the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching to the network-side device when the multi-SIM card connection switching is performed. In this case, after the network-side device receives the capability information, the network-side device can send configuration signaling, for example, a radio resource control reconfiguration signaling, to the terminal, and the corresponding configuration is carried in the configuration signaling. The configuration can include time domain resources and / or frequency domain resources, and the terminal can report the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching based on the configuration.

[0159] In an embodiment, the configuration indication can be carried in the configuration signaling, for indicating a sub-signaling in the configuration signaling for carrying the configuration. Taking the RRC reconfiguration signaling as the configuration signaling for example, the configuration can be carried in the OtherConfig signaling of the RRC reconfiguration signaling, and then the terminal can be informed by the configuration indication to acquire the configuration in the OtherConfig signaling of the RRC reconfiguration signaling.

[0160] In an embodiment, the method further comprises: reporting, to the network side device, information of the multi-SIM card connection switching according to the configuration, for example, the information can be reported through the UEInformationResponse signaling. Wherein, the terminal reports the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching, which can be reported when the terminal is about to perform the multi-SIM card connection switching, or can be reported in the process of performing the multi-SIM card connection switching.

[0161] In an embodiment, the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching reported by the terminal comprises at least one of:

[0162] information of the second SIM card to which the terminal is about to switch in the process of performing the multi-SIM card connection switching, for example, an identifier of the second SIM card;

[0163] information of a communication operation performed by the second SIM card to which the terminal is switched, for example, a type of the communication operation performed by the second SIM card, a time length of performing the communication operation, etc.

[0164] Figure 9 is another schematic flowchart of a capability determination method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in the figure, the method comprises: Figure 9 The sending, to the terminal, the configuration signaling comprises:

[0165] In step S901, it is determined whether the capability of the multi-SIM card connection switching supported by the network side matches the capability of the multi-SIM card connection switching of the terminal.

[0166] In an embodiment, the method further comprises:

[0167] In step S902, in response to the capability of the multi-SIM card connection switching supported by the network side matching the capability of the multi-SIM card connection switching of the terminal, the configuration signaling is sent to the terminal.

[0168] In an embodiment, the network-side device can determine its own capability of supporting multi-SIM connection switching, for example, determine whether to configure the terminal to perform multi-SIM connection switching when the terminal meets a target condition, and then determine whether the capability of the network-side device supporting multi-SIM connection switching matches the capability of the terminal performing multi-SIM connection switching.

[0169] For example, if the terminal also supports performing multi-SIM connection switching when the terminal meets a target condition, it is determined that the match is matched, and if the terminal does not support performing multi-SIM connection switching when the terminal meets a target condition, it is determined that the match is not matched. In the case of matching, the configuration signaling can be sent to the terminal; in the case of not matching, the configuration signaling does not have to be sent to the terminal, because in this case, even if the terminal is configured to report information of performing multi-SIM connection switching, the network-side device does not support configuring the terminal to perform multi-SIM connection switching, thereby avoiding wasting communication resources,

[0170] In an embodiment, the configuration includes at least one of the following:

[0171] whether to allow the terminal to report information of the multi-SIM connection switching;

[0172] whether to allow the terminal to report information of multi-SIM connection switching that meets a third condition;

[0173] a duration of a blocking timer for the terminal to report information of the multi-SIM connection switching;

[0174] a fourth condition for the terminal to block reporting information of the multi-SIM connection switching by using the blocking timer;

[0175] a support capability of the network-side device for the terminal to perform multi-SIM connection switching.

[0176] In an embodiment, the network-side device can make various configurations according to the need for the terminal to report information of multi-SIM connection switching, and the configuration can indicate how the terminal reports information of multi-SIM connection switching.

[0177] In an embodiment, the method further includes reporting information of multi-SIM connection switching to the network-side device according to the configuration. When the terminal performs multi-SIM connection switching, the terminal can report information of multi-SIM connection switching to the network-side device according to the configuration of the network-side device.

[0178] For example, the network side device can configure whether to allow the terminal to report the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching. If the terminal determines according to the configuration that the reporting of the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching is allowed, the terminal can report the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching. In this case, the configuration can also indicate the time domain resource and the frequency domain resource used by the terminal for reporting. If the terminal determines according to the configuration that the reporting of the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching is not allowed, the terminal does not report the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching.

[0179] For example, the network side device can configure whether to allow the terminal to report the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching that satisfies the third condition, that is, in the case where the network side device configures to allow the terminal to report the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching, the network side device can further limit the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching that satisfies the third condition. For example, the configuration can carry the third condition and an indication bit. The indication bit is 1, indicating that the reporting of the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching that satisfies the second condition is allowed. The indication bit is 0, indicating that the reporting of the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching that satisfies the second condition is not allowed.

[0180] If the terminal determines according to the configuration that the reporting of the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching that satisfies the third condition is allowed, the terminal can report the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching to the network side device when the multi-SIM card connection switching that satisfies the third condition is performed. If the terminal determines according to the configuration that the reporting of the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching that satisfies the third condition is not allowed, the terminal does not need to report the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching to the network side device when the multi-SIM card connection switching that satisfies the third condition is performed. The terminal can report the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching to the network side device when the multi-SIM card connection switching that satisfies other conditions is performed.

[0181] For example, the network side device can configure the duration of the blocking timer for the terminal to report the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching. The network side device can further configure the duration of the blocking timer for the terminal to report the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching that satisfies the third condition. The network side device can also set the duration of the blocking timer for the multi-SIM card connection switching that satisfies different conditions, respectively, for blocking the reporting. After the terminal determines the duration of the blocking timer according to the configuration, the terminal can start the blocking timer when reporting the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching to the network side device. The terminal will not report the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching again within the duration of the blocking timer, that is, before the expiration of the blocking timer.

[0182] On this basis, the network side device can further configure a fourth condition for the terminal to use the blocking timer. The terminal uses the blocking timer only when the fourth condition is met, and does not use the blocking timer when the fourth condition is not met. For example, the fourth condition includes a first target type of the first SIM card for communication operation, a second target type of the second SIM card for communication operation, and the like. When the terminal performs multi-SIM connection switching, if the type of the first SIM card for communication operation is the first target type, and / or the type of the second SIM card for communication operation is the second target type, the terminal can use the blocking timer, otherwise, the terminal does not use the blocking timer.

[0183] It should be noted that the third condition and the fourth condition can be set as needed, which can be the same condition as the first condition, or can be a different condition from the first condition. For example, the third condition includes at least one of the following: the first SIM card leaving the connected state, and the first SIM card remaining in the connected state; and for example, the fourth condition includes at least one of the following: the terminal is performing or will perform multi-SIM connection switching.

[0184] In addition, the performance of the network side device also varies, and the support capability of different network side devices for the terminal to perform multi-SIM connection switching can also vary. For example, some network side devices support the terminal to perform multi-SIM connection switching when the first SIM card leaves the connected state, and some network side devices support the terminal to perform multi-SIM connection switching when the first SIM card remains in the connected state. Therefore, the network side device can carry the support capability in the configuration and send it to the terminal, so that the terminal decides whether to report the multi-SIM connection switching information according to the configuration.

[0185] For example, when it is determined that the network side device only supports the terminal to perform multi-SIM connection switching when the first SIM card remains in the connected state, the terminal does not need to report the multi-SIM connection switching information when the first SIM card leaves the connected state, so as to avoid wasting communication resources (because in this case, even if the multi-SIM connection switching information is reported, the network side device cannot make reasonable configuration for the process of the terminal to perform multi-SIM connection switching), and the terminal can report the multi-SIM connection switching information when the first SIM card remains in the connected state.

[0186] In one embodiment, the multi-SIM connection switching information reported by the terminal includes at least one of the following:

[0187] Information to be switched to the second SIM card during the multi-SIM connection switching process of the terminal, such as an identifier of the second SIM card;

[0188] information of a communication operation performed by switching to the second SIM card, for example, a type of the communication operation performed by switching to the second SIM card, a duration of the communication operation performed, and the like.

[0189] In one embodiment, after the network-side device receives the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching, the network-side device can make appropriate configuration for the process of the multi-SIM card connection switching of the terminal. For example, the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching includes a second type of the communication operation performed by switching to the second SIM card. Since the first type of the communication operation performed by the first SIM is known to the network-side device, after determining the second type, the network-side device can make appropriate configuration for the process of the multi-SIM card connection switching of the terminal based on the first type and the second type.

[0190] For example, the first type has a higher priority than the second type, and the network-side device can configure the terminal not to be allowed to switch to the second SIM card to perform the communication. For example, the second type has a higher priority than the first type, and the network-side device can configure the terminal to be allowed to switch to the second SIM card to perform the communication.

[0191] For example, the first type has a higher priority than the second type, and the network-side device can configure the terminal not to be allowed to switch to the second SIM card to perform the communication. For example, the second type has a higher priority than the first type, and the network-side device can configure the terminal to be allowed to switch to the second SIM card to perform the communication.

[0192] In addition to the above-mentioned manner of making configuration for the process of the multi-SIM card connection switching of the terminal, other manners can also be considered. For example, the allowed time delay of the first type and the second type can be considered. For example, the allowed time delay corresponding to the first type is relatively large, for example, greater than a time delay threshold, and the network-side device can configure the terminal to be allowed to switch to the second SIM card to perform the communication. For example, the allowed time delay corresponding to the first type is relatively small, for example, less than a time delay threshold, and the network-side device can configure the terminal not to be allowed to switch to the second SIM card to perform the communication.

[0193] Corresponding to the above-mentioned embodiments of the capability indication method and the capability determination method, the present disclosure also provides embodiments of a capability indication apparatus and a capability determination apparatus.

[0194] The embodiment of the present disclosure also provides a capability indication apparatus. The capability indication apparatus shown in the embodiment can be applied to a terminal, which includes but is not limited to a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a wearable device, a sensor, an Internet of Things device, and the like. The terminal can communicate with a network-side device as a user equipment, which includes but is not limited to a network-side device in a 4G, 5G, 6G, and the like communication system, for example, a base station, a core network, and the like.

[0195] In one embodiment, the terminal can be provided with multiple SIM cards, which can be traditional SIM cards or eSIM cards, i.e., embedded SIM cards.

[0196] The technical solutions of the present disclosure are exemplarily described below in the case that the plurality of SIM cards include a first SIM card and a second SIM card. The first SIM card and the second SIM card are not specific to a certain SIM card, but are used to represent any two different SIM cards in the plurality of SIM cards. The first SIM card and the second SIM card can belong to the same operator, or can belong to different operators, which can be selected as needed.

[0197] In an embodiment, the capability indication apparatus includes one or more processors configured to perform: sending, to a network side device, capability indication information, the capability indication information being used to indicate whether the terminal is capable of multi-SIM card connection switching.

[0198] In an embodiment, the multi-SIM card connection switching includes switching from a communication operation through a first SIM card to a communication operation through a second SIM card.

[0199] In an embodiment, the processor is configured to perform: sending the capability indication information to the network side device in a process of establishing a communication connection with the network side device.

[0200] In an embodiment, the network side device includes an evolved access network (E-UTRAN) network side device, and the capability indication information is carried in at least one of the following: a radio resource control (RRC) connection setup complete (RRCConnectionSetupComplete) signaling; a RRC connection resume complete (RRCConnectionResumeComplete) signaling; and a RRC connection reestablishment complete (RRCConnectionReestablishmentComplete) signaling.

[0201] In an embodiment, the network side device includes a new radio (NR) network side device, and the capability indication information is carried in at least one of the following: a RRC setup complete (RRCSetupComplete) signaling; a RRC resume complete (RRCResumeComplete) signaling; and a RRC reestablishment complete (RRCReestablishmentComplete) signaling.

[0202] In an embodiment, the processor is further configured to perform: receiving a capability reporting request sent by the network side device; and sending, to the network side device, a capability of the terminal for multi-SIM card connection switching.

[0203] In an embodiment, the capability of the terminal to perform the multi-SIM card connection switching comprises whether the terminal is capable of performing the multi-SIM card connection switching under a first condition, wherein the first condition comprises at least one of the following: the first SIM card leaves a connected state, the first SIM card remains in the connected state.

[0204] In an embodiment, the first SIM card leaving the connected state comprises the first SIM card leaving the connected state based on an access layer, and / or the first SIM card leaving the connected state based on a non-access layer.

[0205] In an embodiment, the first SIM card remaining in the connected state comprises the first SIM card remaining in the connected state based on the access layer, and / or the first SIM card remaining in the connected state based on the non-access layer.

[0206] In an embodiment, the processor is configured to perform: determining a second condition according to the capability reporting request; and sending, to the network side device, the capability of the terminal to perform the multi-SIM card connection switching if the terminal has the capability to perform the multi-SIM card connection switching under the second condition.

[0207] In an embodiment, the processor is further configured to perform: receiving configuration signaling sent by the network side; and determining, according to the configuration information, configuration of reporting, to the network side device, information of the multi-SIM card connection switching.

[0208] In an embodiment, the configuration comprises at least one of the following: whether the terminal is allowed to report information of the multi-SIM card connection switching; whether the terminal is allowed to report information of the multi-SIM card connection switching under a third condition; a time length of a blocking timer for the terminal to report information of the multi-SIM card connection switching; a fourth condition for the terminal to block reporting information of the multi-SIM card connection switching by using the blocking timer; and a support capability of the network side device for the terminal to perform the multi-SIM card connection switching.

[0209] In an embodiment, the processor is further configured to perform: reporting, to the network side device, information of the multi-SIM card connection switching according to the configuration.

[0210] Embodiments of the present disclosure also propose a capability determination apparatus. The capability determination apparatus shown in the embodiments can be applied to a network side device, such as a base station, a core network, and the like, which can communicate with a terminal, such as a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a wearable device, a sensor, an Internet of Things device, and the like, and a network side device in a communication system, such as a 4G, 5G, 6G, and the like.

[0211] In an embodiment, the terminal can be provided with multiple SIM cards, which can be traditional SIM cards or eSIM cards, i.e., embedded SIM cards.

[0212] The technical solutions of the present disclosure are exemplarily described below mainly in the case that the multiple SIM cards include a first SIM card and a second SIM card. The first SIM card and the second SIM card are not specific to a certain SIM card, but are used to represent any two different SIM cards in the multiple SIM cards. The first SIM card and the second SIM card can belong to the same operator or belong to different operators, which can be selected as needed.

[0213] In an embodiment, the capability determining apparatus includes one or more processors configured to perform: receiving capability indication information sent by a terminal; and determining whether the terminal is capable of multi-SIM card connection switching according to the capability indication information.

[0214] In an embodiment, the multi-SIM card connection switching includes switching from a first SIM card to a second SIM card for communication operation when the communication operation is performed through the first SIM card.

[0215] In an embodiment, the processor is configured to perform: sending a capability reporting request to the terminal, for requesting the terminal to report the capability of the terminal for multi-SIM card connection switching.

[0216] In an embodiment, the capability reporting request carries a second condition, for indicating the terminal to report the capability of the terminal for multi-SIM card connection switching if the terminal has the capability of performing multi-SIM card connection switching under the second condition.

[0217] In an embodiment, the processor is further configured to perform: receiving the capability of the terminal for multi-SIM card connection switching reported by the terminal.

[0218] In an embodiment, the processor is further configured to perform: sending configuration signaling to the terminal, the configuration signaling being used to indicate the configuration of the terminal for reporting information of the multi-SIM card connection switching to the network side device.

[0219] In an embodiment, the processor is configured to perform: determining whether the capability of the network side supported for multi-SIM card connection switching matches the capability of the terminal for multi-SIM card connection switching, and sending the configuration signaling to the terminal if the capabilities match.

[0220] In an embodiment, the configuration comprises at least one of: whether the terminal is allowed to report information of the multi-SIM card connection switching; whether the terminal is allowed to report information of the multi-SIM card connection switching satisfying a third condition; a duration of a blocking timer for the terminal to report the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching; a fourth condition for the terminal to block the reporting of the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching by using the blocking timer; and a support capability of the network side device for the multi-SIM card connection switching of the terminal.

[0221] As to the apparatus in the above-mentioned embodiments, the specific manners in which various modules perform operations have been described in detail in the embodiments of the method, and thus will not be described here in detail.

[0222] For the apparatus embodiments, since they basically correspond to the method embodiments, the relevant parts are described in the part of the method embodiments. The apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative, and the modules described as separate components can or can not be physically separated, and the components shown as modules can or can not be physical modules, i.e., can be located in one place or distributed on multiple network modules. Part or all of the modules can be selected to achieve the purpose of the present embodiment scheme according to actual needs. Those skilled in the art can understand and implement it without creative labor.

[0223] The embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a communication apparatus, comprising: a processor; a memory for storing a computer program; wherein when the computer program is executed by the processor, the capability indication method in any of the above-mentioned embodiments is implemented.

[0224] The embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a communication apparatus, comprising: a processor; a memory for storing a computer program; wherein when the computer program is executed by the processor, the capability determination method in any of the above-mentioned embodiments is implemented.

[0225] The embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a computer readable storage medium for storing a computer program, when the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the capability indication method in any of the above-mentioned embodiments are implemented.

[0226] The embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a computer readable storage medium for storing a computer program, when the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the capability determination method in any of the above-mentioned embodiments are implemented.

[0227] As Figure 10 shown, Figure 10is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus 1000 for … according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The apparatus 1000 can be provided as a base station. Referring to Figure 10 The apparatus 1000 includes a processing component 1022, a wireless transmit / receive component 1024, an antenna component 1026, and a signal processing portion specific to the wireless interface, the processing component 1022 can further include one or more processors. One of the processors in the processing component 1022 can be configured to implement the capability determination method described in any of the above embodiments.

[0228] Figure 11 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus 1100 for capability indication according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The apparatus 1100 can be a mobile phone, a computer, a digital broadcast terminal, a message receiving device, a game console, a tablet device, a medical device, a fitness device, a personal digital assistant, etc.

[0229] Referring to Figure 11 The apparatus 1100 can include one or more of the following components: a processing component 1102, a memory 1104, a power supply component 1106, a multimedia component 1108, an audio component 1110, an input / output (I / O) interface 1112, a sensor component 1114, and a communication component 1116.

[0230] The processing component 1102 generally controls the overall operation of the apparatus 1100. The processing component 1102 can include one or more processors 1120 to execute instructions to complete all or a part of steps of the above-mentioned capability indication method. The processing component 1102 can further include one or more modules to facilitate interaction between the processing component 1102 and other components. For example, the processing component 1102 can include a multimedia module to facilitate the interaction between the multimedia component 1108 and the processing component 1102.

[0231] The memory 1104 is configured to store various types of data to support operations of the apparatus 1100. Examples of these data include instructions to be executed to operate any applications or methods on the apparatus 1100, contact data, phonebook data, messages, pictures, videos, etc. The memory 1104 can be implemented by any type of volatile or nonvolatile memory devices or a combination thereof, such as static random access memory (SRAM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), read-only memory (ROM), magnetic memory, flash memory, magnetic disk or optical disk.

[0232] Power component 1106 provides power to the various components of device 1100. Power component 1106 can include a power supply management system, one or more power sources, and other components associated with generating, managing, and distributing power for device 1100.

[0233] Multimedia component 1108 includes a screen providing an output interface between device 1100 and a user. In some embodiments, the screen can include a liquid crystal display (LCD) and a touch panel (TP). If the screen includes a touch panel, the screen can be implemented as a touch screen to receive input signals from a user. The touch panel includes one or more touch sensors to sense touch, swiping, and gestures on the touch panel. The touch sensors can not only sense a boundary of a touching or swiping action, but also detect duration and pressure related to the touching or swiping action. In some embodiments, multimedia component 1108 includes a front camera and / or a rear camera. When device 1100 is in an operation mode, such as a shooting mode or a video mode, the front camera and / or the rear camera can receive external multimedia data. Each of the front and rear cameras can be a fixed optical lens system or have a focal length and optical zoom capability.

[0234] Audio component 1110 is configured to output and / or input audio signals. For example, audio component 1110 includes a microphone (MIC) that is configured to receive external audio signals when device 1100 is in an operation mode, such as a call mode, a recording mode, and a voice recognition mode. The received audio signals can be further stored in memory 1104 or transmitted via communication component 1116. In some embodiments, audio component 1110 also includes a speaker for outputting audio signals.

[0235] I / O interface 1112 provides an interface between processing component 1102 and peripheral interface modules, which can be a keyboard, a click wheel, buttons, and the like. The buttons can include, but are not limited to, a home button, a volume button, a start button, and a lock button.

[0236] The sensor component 1114 includes one or more sensors for providing status assessments for various aspects of the device 1100. For example, the sensor component 1114 can detect an open / closed position of the device 1100, relative positioning of components of the device 1100, such as a display and a keypad of the device 1100, a change in position of the device 1100 or a component of the device 1100, presence or absence of user contact with the device 1100, orientation or acceleration / deceleration / g-force and temperature changes of the device 1100. The sensor component 1114 can include proximity sensor(s) configured to detect presence of nearby objects without any physical contact. The sensor component 1114 can further include a light sensor(s), such as a CMOS or CCD image sensor, for use in imaging applications. In some embodiments, the sensor component 1114 can further include an acceleration sensor, a gyroscope sensor, a magnetic sensor, a pressure sensor or a temperature sensor.

[0237] The communication component 1116 is configured to facilitate wired or wireless communication between the device 1100 and another device. The device 1100 can access a wireless network based on a communication standard, such as WiFi, 2G or 3G, 4G LTE, 5G NR, or a combination thereof. In an example embodiment, the communication component 1116 receives broadcast signals or broadcast-related information from an external broadcast management system via a broadcast channel. In an example embodiment, the communication component 1116 further includes a Near Field Communication (NFC) module to facilitate short-range communication. For example, the NFC module can be implemented based on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) techniques, infrared data association (IrDA) techniques, ultra-wideband (UWB) techniques, Bluetooth (BT) techniques and other techniques.

[0238] In an example embodiment, the device 1100 can be implemented by one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), controllers, micro-controllers, microprocessors or other electronic modules to perform the above-described capability indication method.

[0239] In an example embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including instructions, such as the memory 1104 including instructions, is also provided, which can be executed by the processor 1120 of the device 1100 to complete the above-described capability indication method. For example, the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium can be a ROM, a random access memory (RAM), a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disc, and an optical data storage device, etc.

[0240] Other embodiments of this disclosure will readily occur to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the specification and practice of the disclosure herein. This disclosure is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of this disclosure that follow the general principles of this disclosure and include common knowledge or customary techniques in the art not disclosed herein. The specification and examples are to be considered exemplary only, and the true scope and spirit of this disclosure are indicated by the following claims.

[0241] It should be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the precise structures described above and shown in the accompanying drawings, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from its scope. The scope of this disclosure is limited only by the appended claims.

[0242] It should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used only to distinguish one entity or operation from another, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. The terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes said element.

[0243] The methods and apparatus provided in the embodiments of this disclosure have been described in detail above. Specific examples have been used to illustrate the principles and implementation methods of this disclosure. The descriptions of the embodiments above are only for the purpose of helping to understand the methods and core ideas of this disclosure. At the same time, for those skilled in the art, there will be changes in the specific implementation methods and application scope based on the ideas of this disclosure. Therefore, the content of this specification should not be construed as a limitation of this disclosure.

Claims

1. A capability indication method, characterized by, The method is performed by a terminal, and the method comprises: sending, to a network-side device, capability indication information, the capability indication information being used to indicate whether the terminal is capable of multi-SIM card connection switching; receiving configuration signaling sent by the network-side device; determining, according to the configuration signaling, configuration of information of the multi-SIM card connection switching to be reported to the network-side device; when the multi-SIM card connection switching is performed, reporting, to the network-side device, information of the multi-SIM card connection switching according to the configuration; the reported information of the multi-SIM card connection switching comprises a second type of communication operation to be performed by a second SIM card after switching to the second SIM card, so that the network device configures a process of the multi-SIM card connection switching of the terminal based on a first type of communication operation being performed by a first SIM card and the second type.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The terminal is provided with a plurality of SIM cards, the plurality of SIM cards at least comprising the first SIM card and the second SIM card, and the multi-SIM card connection switching comprises switching to the second SIM card to perform a communication operation when the first SIM card performs the communication operation.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein, The sending, to the network-side device, of the capability indication information comprises: sending, to the network-side device, the capability indication information in a process of establishing a communication connection with the network-side device.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein, The network-side device comprises an evolved access network (E-UTRAN) network-side device, and the capability indication information is carried in at least one of the following: a radio resource control (RRC) connection setup complete (RRCConnectionSetupComplete) signaling; a radio resource control (RRC) connection resume complete (RRCConnectionResumeComplete) signaling; a radio resource control (RRC) connection reestablishment complete (RRCConnectionReestablishmentComplete) signaling.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein, The network-side device comprises a new radio (NR) network-side device, and the capability indication information is carried in at least one of the following: a radio resource control (RRC) setup complete (RRCSetupComplete) signaling; a radio resource control (RRC) resume complete (RRCResumeComplete) signaling; a radio resource control (RRC) reestablishment complete (RRCReestablishmentComplete) signaling.

6. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that, The method further comprises: receiving a capability reporting request sent by the network-side device; sending, to the network-side device, a capability of the terminal for the multi-SIM card connection switching.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein, The capability of the terminal for the multi-SIM card connection switching comprises whether the terminal is capable of performing the multi-SIM card connection switching under a first condition, wherein the first condition comprises at least one of the following: the first SIM card leaves a connected state; and the first SIM card remains in the connected state.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein, The first SIM card leaving the connected state comprises: the first SIM card leaving the connected state based on an access stratum; and / or the first SIM card leaving the connected state based on a non-access stratum.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein, The first SIM card remaining in the connected state comprises: the first SIM card remaining in the connected state based on the access stratum; and / or the first SIM card remaining in the connected state based on the non-access stratum.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein, The sending, to the network side device, of the capability of the terminal to perform the multi-SIM card connection switching comprises: determining a second condition according to the capability reporting request; when the terminal has the capability to perform the multi-SIM card connection switching under the condition of meeting the second condition, sending, to the network side device, the capability of the terminal to perform the multi-SIM card connection switching.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein, The configuration comprises at least one of: whether to allow the terminal to report the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching; whether to allow the terminal to report the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching meeting a third condition; a duration of a blocking timer of the terminal for reporting the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching; a fourth condition of the terminal for blocking the reporting of the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching by using the blocking timer; a support capability of the network side device for the multi-SIM card connection switching of the terminal.

12. A capability determination method, comprising: The method is performed by a network side device, and the method comprises: receiving capability indication information sent by a terminal; determining whether the terminal can perform multi-SIM card connection switching according to the capability indication information; sending, to the terminal, configuration signaling for indicating a configuration of the terminal for reporting information of the multi-SIM card connection switching to the network side device; receiving, from the terminal, information of the multi-SIM card connection switching reported according to the configuration when the terminal performs the multi-SIM card connection switching; the reported information of the multi-SIM card connection switching comprises a second type of communication operation to be performed by a second SIM card after switching to the second SIM card; configuring a process of the terminal for performing the multi-SIM card connection switching based on a first type and a second type of communication operation being performed by a first SIM card.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein, The terminal is provided with a plurality of SIM cards, and the plurality of SIM cards comprise at least a first SIM card and a second SIM card; the multi-SIM card connection switching comprises switching to the second SIM card to perform communication operation when communication operation is performed by the first SIM card.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein, The method further comprises: sending, to the terminal, a capability reporting request for requesting the terminal to report a capability of the terminal for performing the multi-SIM card connection switching.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein, The capability reporting request carries a second condition for indicating that the capability of the terminal for performing the multi-SIM card connection switching is reported when the terminal has the capability to perform the multi-SIM card connection switching under the condition of meeting the second condition.

16. The method according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that The method further comprises: receiving, from the terminal, the capability of the terminal for performing the multi-SIM card connection switching.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein, The sending, to the terminal, of the configuration signaling comprises: determining whether the capability of the network side for supporting the multi-SIM card connection switching matches the capability of the terminal for performing the multi-SIM card connection switching.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein, The method further comprises: in response to the capability of the network side for supporting the multi-SIM card connection switching matching the capability of the terminal for performing the multi-SIM card connection switching, sending, to the terminal, the configuration signaling.

19. The method of claim 12, wherein, The configuration comprises at least one of: whether to allow the terminal to report the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching; whether to allow the terminal to report the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching meeting a third condition; A duration of a blocking timer for reporting information of the multi-SIM card connection switching by the terminal; A fourth condition for the terminal to block reporting of the information of the multi-SIM card connection switching by using the blocking timer; A support capability of the network side device for the multi-SIM card connection switching of the terminal.

20. An apparatus for indicating capabilities, the apparatus comprising: The one or more processors are configured to perform: sending, to a network side device, capability indication information indicating whether the terminal is capable of multi-SIM card connection switching; receiving configuration signaling sent by the network side; determining, according to the configuration signaling, a configuration of reporting, to the network side device, information of the multi-SIM card connection switching; reporting, to the network side device, information of the multi-SIM card connection switching according to the configuration when the multi-SIM card connection switching is performed; the reported information of the multi-SIM card connection switching including a second type of communication operation to be performed by a second SIM card after switching to the second SIM card, so that the network device configures a process of the multi-SIM card connection switching of the terminal based on a first type of communication operation being performed by a first SIM card.

21. A capability determining apparatus, characterized by comprising: The one or more processors are configured to perform: receiving capability indication information sent by a terminal; determining, according to the capability indication information, whether the terminal is capable of multi-SIM card connection switching; sending, to the terminal, configuration signaling indicating a configuration of reporting, by the terminal, information of the multi-SIM card connection switching; receiving, from the terminal, information of the multi-SIM card connection switching reported according to the configuration when the multi-SIM card connection switching is performed; the reported information of the multi-SIM card connection switching including a second type of communication operation to be performed by a second SIM card after switching to the second SIM card; configuring a process of the multi-SIM card connection switching of the terminal based on a first type of communication operation being performed by a first SIM card.

22. A communications device, characterized by comprise: a processor; a memory for storing a computer program; wherein the computer program, when executed by the processor, implements the capability indication method of any one of claims 1 to 11.

23. A communications device, characterized by comprise: a processor; a memory for storing a computer program; wherein the computer program, when executed by the processor, implements the capability determination method of any one of claims 12 to 19.

24. A computer readable storage medium for storing a computer program, characterized in that, the computer program, when executed by the processor, implements the steps of the capability indication method of any one of claims 1 to 11.

25. A computer readable storage medium for storing a computer program, characterized in that, the computer program, when executed by the processor, implements the steps of the capability determination method of any one of claims 12 to 19.

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