Tracking area update method, device, equipment and storage medium

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a tracking area TA update method, device, equipment and storage medium, which relates to the field of communication technology. The method includes: obtaining a TA list allocated by the network side, the TA list including the tracking area code TAC of the terrestrial network TN cell and the TAC of the non-terrestrial network NTN cell; receiving a first broadcast message from the TN and a second broadcast message from the NTN; determining whether to trigger the execution of the TA update according to the TA list, the TAC in the first broadcast message and the TAC in the second broadcast message.

Description

Background Art

[0002] The integration of TN (Terrestrial Networks) and NTN (Non-Terrestrial Networks) will form a global integrated communication network with seamless coverage of land, sea, air, and space, meeting users' ubiquitous and diverse business needs, which is an important direction for future communication development.

[0003] With the development of TN and NTN convergence, there will be a large number of scenarios where TN and NTN overlap. However, in such scenarios, there is currently no solution for tracking the terminal location, selecting and updating the tracking area.

[0004] It should be noted that the information disclosed in the above background technology section is only used to enhance the understanding of the background of the present disclosure, and therefore may include information that does not constitute the prior art known to ordinary technicians in the field. Summary of the invention

[0005] The present disclosure provides a tracking area TA updating method, apparatus, device and storage medium, which solves the problem of no TA updating solution in the scenario of TN and NTN converged networking in the related art by placing the TAC (Tracking Area Code) of a TN cell and the TAC of an NTN cell in the same TA list.

[0006] Other features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description, or may be learned in part by the practice of the present disclosure.

[0007] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a tracking area TA updating method is provided, which is applied to a terminal, and the method includes:

[0008] Obtain the TA list allocated by the network side, the TA list includes the tracking area code TAC of the terrestrial network TN cell and the TAC of the non-terrestrial network NTN cell;

[0009] receiving a first broadcast message from the TN and a second broadcast message from the NTN;

[0010] It is determined whether to trigger TA update according to the TA list, the TAC in the first broadcast message and the TAC in the second broadcast message.

[0011] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, when the TAC in the first broadcast message belongs to the TA list and the TAC in the second broadcast message does not belong to the TA list, determining whether to trigger the execution of TA update according to the TA list, the TAC in the first broadcast message, and the TAC in the second broadcast message includes:

[0012] When the TAC in at least one second broadcast message received before the first timer expires belongs to the TA list, starting a second timer;

[0013] Before the second timer times out, if at least one TAC in the received second broadcast message belongs to the TA list, the TA update is not performed.

[0014] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, determining whether to trigger TA update according to the TA list, the TAC in the first broadcast message, and the TAC in the second broadcast message further includes:

[0015] Before the first timer times out, when none of the TACs in the received second broadcast message belongs to the TA list, the TA update of the NTN is triggered.

[0016] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, when the TAC in the first broadcast message does not belong to the TA list, and the TAC in the second broadcast message belongs to the TA list, determining whether to trigger the execution of TA update according to the TA list, the TAC in the first broadcast message, and the TAC in the second broadcast message includes:

[0017] Whether to trigger TA update is determined according to the TA list, the TAC in the first broadcast message, the TAC in the second broadcast message, and the displacement speed of the terminal.

[0018] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, determining whether to trigger TA update according to the TA list, the TAC in the first broadcast message, the TAC in the second broadcast message, and the displacement speed of the terminal includes:

[0019] When the displacement speed of the terminal is greater than the preset speed, the TA update of the TN is not performed;

[0020] When the displacement speed of the terminal is not greater than the preset speed, the TA update of the TN is performed.

[0021] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, when the TAC in the first broadcast message belongs to the TA list and the TAC in the second broadcast message belongs to the TA list, determining whether to trigger the execution of TA update according to the TA list, the TAC in the first broadcast message, and the TAC in the second broadcast message includes:

[0022] According to the TA list, the TAC in the first broadcast message and the TAC in the second broadcast message, it is determined that TA update is not triggered.

[0023] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, when the TAC in the first broadcast message does not belong to the TA list, and the TAC in the second broadcast message does not belong to the TA list, determining whether to trigger the execution of TA update according to the TA list, the TAC in the first broadcast message, and the TAC in the second broadcast message includes:

[0024] According to the TA list, the TAC in the first broadcast message and the TAC in the second broadcast message, it is determined to trigger the execution of TA update of the TN and the TA update of the NTN.

[0025] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, each first broadcast message carries the TAC of at least one TN cell.

[0026] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, each second broadcast message carries the TAC of at least one NTN cell.

[0027] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the TA list is acquired by the terminal through high-layer signaling.

[0028] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a tracking area TA updating device is provided, which is applied to a terminal, and the device includes:

[0029] A list acquisition module is used to acquire a TA list allocated by the network side, the TA list including a tracking area code TAC of a terrestrial network TN cell and a TAC of a non-terrestrial network NTN cell;

[0030] A broadcast message receiving module, used for receiving a first broadcast message from the TN and a second broadcast message from the NTN;

[0031] The update processing module is used to determine whether to trigger the execution of TA update according to the TA list, the TAC in the first broadcast message and the TAC in the second broadcast message.

[0032] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, an electronic device is provided, including: a processor; and a memory for storing executable instructions of the processor; wherein the processor is configured to execute the above-mentioned tracking area TA update method by executing the executable instructions.

[0033] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, on which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed by a processor, the tracking area TA updating method described above is implemented.

[0034] The tracking area TA update method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure is that the terminal obtains the TA list allocated by the network side, and receives the first broadcast message from the TN and the second broadcast message sent from the NTN; then, according to the TA list, the TAC in the first broadcast message and the TAC in the second broadcast message, it is determined whether to trigger the execution of the TA update. The TA list includes the tracking area code TAC of the terrestrial network TN cell and the TAC of the non-terrestrial network NTN cell. In this way, when the first broadcast message and the second broadcast message are received, since the TAC of the TN cell and the TAC of the NTN cell are both in the TA list, the frequency of TA update can be reduced.

[0035] It is to be understood that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the present disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0036] The accompanying drawings herein are incorporated into the specification and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the present disclosure, and together with the specification are used to explain the principles of the present disclosure. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present disclosure, and for ordinary technicians in this field, other accompanying drawings can be obtained based on these accompanying drawings without creative work.

[0037] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a converged networking scenario in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0038] Figure 2 A schematic diagram showing another scenario of converged networking in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0039] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a tracking area TA updating method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0040] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a tracking area TA update scenario in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0041] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of another tracking area TA update scenario in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0042] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of another tracking area TA updating method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0043] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of a tracking area TA updating device in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown; and

[0044] Figure 8 A structural block diagram of a computer device in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0045] Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, example embodiments can be implemented in a variety of forms and should not be construed as limited to the examples set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that the disclosure will be more comprehensive and complete and to fully convey the concepts of the example embodiments to those skilled in the art. The described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

[0046] In addition, the accompanying drawings are only schematic illustrations of the present disclosure and are not necessarily drawn to scale. The same reference numerals in the figures represent the same or similar parts, and thus their repeated description will be omitted. Some of the block diagrams shown in the accompanying drawings are functional entities and do not necessarily correspond to physically or logically independent entities. These functional entities can be implemented in software form, or implemented in one or more hardware modules or integrated circuits, or implemented in different networks and / or processor devices and / or microcontroller devices.

[0047] Based on the background technology, it can be known that for the scenario where TN and NTN overlap, there is no solution for tracking the terminal location, and selecting and updating the TA in the related art.

[0048] The existing TN and NTN broadcast the TAC of their own network respectively, and the terminal selects and updates the TA according to the broadcast cell. With the development of air-ground integration, the coverage of TN and NTN can complement each other and overlap each other. The disclosed embodiment proposes a tracking area TA update method, device, equipment and storage medium in the air-ground integration scenario. The TA list obtained by the terminal includes both the TAC of TN and the TAC of NTN. The terminal can make a reasonable choice according to the coverage situation, realize the mutual complementation of TN and NTN, reduce the frequency of TA update, and overcome the ping-pong effect problem of TA area boundary.

[0049] For ease of understanding, the following first explains the relevant technologies and terms involved in the present disclosure as follows:

[0050] TA can be used to characterize the distance between the terminal UE and the antenna port, or it can be said to be used to characterize the location of the terminal. TA is a cell-level configuration. Multiple cells can be configured with the same TA, and one cell belongs to one TA.

[0051] TAC is managed and allocated by the operator. TAC is used to indicate a unique tracking area code of a certain operator.

[0052] TA update (Tracking Area Update, TAU), when the terminal UE moves from one TA to another TA, it needs to re-register the location on the new TA to notify the network side to change the UE location information it stores. This process is TA update. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the UE initiating or mistakenly initiating the tracking area update can be that the UE sends a TAU request message to the network side.

[0053] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of a converged networking scenario provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0054] like Figure 1 The scenario shown includes a space-based / satellite communication network 102 , an air-based communication network 104 , a ground-based communication network 106 , and a deep-sea ocean communication network 108 .

[0055] Among them, the space-based / satellite communication network 102 may include various satellites, Starlink, etc.; the air-based communication network 104 may include various aircraft such as drones, airships, and airplanes; the ground-based communication network 106 may include cellular, non-cellular network facilities, etc.; the deep-sea ocean communication network 108 may include underwater, surface and deep-sea communication equipment, etc.

[0056] The above-mentioned various communication networks can also be divided according to whether they are terrestrial networks. Furthermore, the above-mentioned various communication networks can be divided into terrestrial networks TN and non-terrestrial networks NTN.

[0057] In the disclosed embodiment, the non-terrestrial network NTN may be a space-based / satellite communication network 102, an air-based communication network 104, etc., which is not limited herein.

[0058] Figure 2 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a converged networking scenario to which the embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied. Figure 2 The scenario shown includes a terrestrial network TN, a non-terrestrial network NTN, and a terminal device UE.

[0059] To simplify the description, the non-terrestrial network NTN is taken as an example to illustrate the satellite communication network introduced above.

[0060] Among them, the satellite communication network may specifically include one or more satellite devices, terminal devices located within the beam coverage of the satellite devices, and core network devices.

[0061] The satellite device can be connected to the core network device, the satellite device can provide communication services to the terminal device, and the core network device can page the terminal device through the satellite device. For example, the core network device can page the terminal device within the beam coverage of the satellite device through the satellite device.

[0062] It should be understood that the terminal device in the embodiments of the present disclosure can be a device with wireless communication function, for example, it can be various handheld devices, vehicle-mounted devices, wearable devices, computing devices or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem with wireless communication function.

[0063] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the terminal device may also be a user unit, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a wireless data card, a personal digital assistant computer, a tablet computer, a wireless modem, a handheld device, a laptop computer, a machine type communication terminal, a computing device with wireless communication capabilities or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a smart home device, a drone device, a terminal device in a 5G network, a terminal device in a 6G network, or a terminal device in a future evolved public land mobile communication network (Public Land Mobile Network, PLMN), etc., and the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to this.

[0064] It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the core network device may be a mobility management device, for example, a core network element, such as an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, which may be responsible for control plane mobility and access management, such as estimating which satellites may serve the user, thereby designing a TA list, and sending the TA list to the user, etc.

[0065] It should be understood that satellite equipment is divided into high-orbit, medium-orbit and low-orbit satellite equipment according to the altitude of its orbit. High-orbit satellites are stationary relative to the ground, and one or more high-orbit satellites can provide communication services for a fixed area.

[0066] Non-high-orbit satellites, for example, non-geostationary Earth Orbit (NGEO) satellite equipment, including medium- and low-orbit satellites, move at high speed relative to the ground and have their own motion trajectories. Generally, multiple satellites are required to cooperate to provide communications for a fixed area.

[0067] The satellite device in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be any one of the satellite devices described above. For example, the satellite device in the embodiments of the present application may be a non-geostationary Earth Orbit (NGEO) satellite device.

[0068] It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present disclosure, a satellite device may have one or more beams. For example, a satellite device may have 12 or 16 beams, etc., and the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to this.

[0069] like Figure 2The terrestrial network TN in the illustrated scenario may include core network equipment and access network equipment, wherein a connection may be established between the core network equipment and the access network equipment, and the access network equipment is connected to the UE.

[0070] In the disclosed embodiments, a core network device and an access network device may be wirelessly connected; and a access network device and a UE may also be wirelessly connected.

[0071] Core network equipment may include control plane equipment and user plane equipment.

[0072] The access network device may include several network devices. The network device may be a base station. The base station may be a device deployed in the access network to provide wireless communication functions for terminal devices.

[0073] Base stations can include various forms of macro base stations, micro base stations, relay stations, access points, etc. In systems using different wireless access technologies, the names of devices with base station functions may be different. For example, in LTE systems, they are called evolved Node B (eNodeB) or eNB; in 5G NR-U systems, they are called gNodeB or gNB. As communication technology evolves, the description of "base station" may change.

[0074] The composition and functions of the above core network equipment are similar to those of the core network equipment in the NTN mentioned above, and will not be repeated here.

[0075] The UE here is similar to the UE described above and will not be described in detail here.

[0076] It should be noted that the technical solution of the embodiment of the present disclosure can be applied to various communication systems, such as: Global System of Mobile communication (GSM) system, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) system, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system, LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD) system, Advanced Long Term Evolution (LTE-A) system, New Radio (NR) system, NR system evolution system, LTE based access to Unlicensed spectrum (LTE-U) system, NR-U system, Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) communication system, Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) system, and Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) system. Networks, WLAN), Wireless Fidelity (WiFi), next generation communication systems or other communication systems, etc.

[0077] The present exemplary implementation is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0078] First, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a tracking area TA updating method, which can be Figure 2 The terminal device UE in the scenario shown is executed, and the method provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure can be used in 4G systems, 5G systems, 6G systems and even further evolved communication systems, which is not limited by the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0079] Figure 3 A flow chart of a tracking area TA updating method in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0080] like Figure 3As shown, the tracking area TA updating method provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure includes the following steps:

[0081] Step S302, obtaining a TA list allocated by the network side, the TA list including the tracking area code TAC of the terrestrial network TN cell and the TAC of the non-terrestrial network NTN cell;

[0082] Step S304, receiving a first broadcast message from TN and a second broadcast message from NTN;

[0083] Step S306: Determine whether to trigger TA update according to the TA list, the TAC in the first broadcast message and the TAC in the second broadcast message.

[0084] The above steps are described in detail below:

[0085] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, TA may be a concept set for terminal device location management. Each TA has its tracking area code TAC.

[0086] In step S302, the TA list is allocated to the terminal by the network side. When the terminal device is paged, the core network can page the terminal device through the access network devices on all TAs in the TA list.

[0087] When the network side (for example, the core network equipment) configures the TA list for the terminal, the TAC of the TN cell and the TAC of the NTN cell are configured in one TA list. In this way, the terminal can reside in the TN cell and the NTN cell at the same time based on the TA list, thereby realizing complementary coverage of the TN cell and the NTN cell.

[0088] exist Figure 2 In the scenario shown, the core network can page the terminal device through the satellite device according to the TA list assigned to the terminal device. Specifically, the terminal device can locally store a TA list, which includes the TAC of the TN cell and the TAC of the NTN cell. When the terminal device is paged, the core network pages the terminal device through the satellite device covering the TA in the TA list.

[0089] The satellite device can determine the coverage of the beam based on the ephemeris information, and then the satellite device can page the terminal device through the satellite beam.

[0090] Here, the ephemeris information may be information stored locally in the satellite device, and the ephemeris information may include information such as beam information and motion trajectory of the satellite device, wherein the beam information may include the coverage area of ​​the beam.

[0091] The "sending device" of the "broadcast message" in step S304 may be the base station mentioned above, or may be the satellite device mentioned above.

[0092] Here, the sending device may periodically send a broadcast message. The broadcast message carries a TAC corresponding to at least one TA. For example, each first broadcast message may carry a TAC of at least one TN cell. Each second broadcast message may carry a TAC of at least one NTN cell.

[0093] Accordingly, the terminal device can receive the broadcast message and obtain the TAC carried in the broadcast message.

[0094] Here, the TA list may be obtained by the terminal through high-layer signaling.

[0095] In step S306, the terminal device may determine whether to trigger a TA update, that is, whether to trigger a TAU, based on the TA list, the TAC in the first broadcast message, and the TAC in the second broadcast message.

[0096] The TA update here may include the TA update of the TN and / or the TA update of the NTN.

[0097] As an example, when a terminal device receives a broadcast message and obtains a TAC, it can compare it with the TA list assigned to it by the network side. If it is found that the TAC is not in the TA list assigned to it, for example, due to the movement of the terminal device, the TA area where the terminal device is located may change, resulting in the TA where the terminal device is located no longer being in the TA list stored in the terminal device. In this case, the terminal device can initiate a TA update process, and the network side (such as the core network) will reallocate the TA list to the terminal device to update the local TA list of the terminal device.

[0098] In the tracking area TA update method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminal obtains the TA list allocated by the network side, and receives the first broadcast message from the TN and the second broadcast message sent from the NTN; then, according to the TA list, the TAC in the first broadcast message and the TAC in the second broadcast message, it is determined whether to trigger the execution of the TA update. The TA list includes the tracking area code TAC of the terrestrial network TN cell and the TAC of the non-terrestrial network NTN cell. In this way, when the first broadcast message and the second broadcast message are received, since the TAC of the TN cell and the TAC of the NTN cell are both in the TA list, the frequency of TA update can be reduced.

[0099] In some embodiments, in the above step S306, when the TAC in the first broadcast message belongs to the TA list and the TAC in the second broadcast message does not belong to the TA list, the terminal device can determine whether to trigger the TA update of NTN by judging whether the TAC in multiple second broadcast messages received within the duration of the first timer belongs to the TA list.

[0100] When the TAC in at least one of the second broadcast messages received before the first timer expires belongs to the TA list, starting a second timer;

[0101] Before the second timer times out, if at least one TAC in the received second broadcast message belongs to the TA list, TA update is not performed.

[0102] Before the first timer times out, when none of the TACs in the received second broadcast message belongs to the TA list, the TA update of the NTN is triggered.

[0103] Based on the above introduction, it can be known that the broadcast message is sent periodically. Here, the duration of the first timer can be greater than the duration of the broadcast message sending cycle, so that at least one broadcast message can be received within the duration of the first timer.

[0104] As an example, the duration of the first timer is greater than the sending period of the broadcast message. Within the duration of the first timer, multiple second broadcast messages can be received. In this way, when the TACs in the multiple second broadcast messages received do not belong to the TA list, the TA update of NTN can be triggered. In other words, when the TAC in the received second broadcast message does not belong to the TA list, the TA update of NTN can be triggered.

[0105] It should be noted that when the TAC in the second broadcast message received belongs to the TA list again within the duration of the first timer, the TA update of NTN can be omitted. Here, "the TAC in the second broadcast message received belongs to the TA list again" means that the NTN TAC is restored, that is, after the TAC in the second broadcast message received belongs to the TA list again, the subsequently received NTN TAC also belongs to the TA list. In this way, the NTN TAC is restored and the TA update of NTN can be omitted.

[0106] In the disclosed embodiment, in the case where the TAC in the first broadcast message belongs to the TA list and the TAC in the second broadcast message does not belong to the TA list, the terminal device does not immediately perform the TA update of the NTN.

[0107] Here, a first timer is set in the embodiment of the present disclosure. Within the duration of the first timer, if none of the TACs in the received multiple second broadcast messages belongs to the TA list, the TA update of the NTN is triggered.

[0108] If the first timer is not set, and the terminal device immediately executes the TA update of the NTN, it is possible that the terminal device frequently executes the TA update and switches back and forth between the TN and the NTN, which is a ping-pong effect.

[0109] The following is combined with Figure 4 , describe the above process in detail.

[0110] At time T1, the TA list of the terminal device can be {TN TAC3, NTN TAC2};

[0111] At time T2, when the terminal device detects NTN TAC1 through the second broadcast message, it does not immediately perform NTN TA update, but starts a timer, where the timer may be the first timer mentioned above;

[0112] At time T3, the terminal device detects NTN TAC2, which is in the TA list; if the first timer does not time out at time T3, the second timer can be started.

[0113] At time T4, the second timer reaches the preset time, and the terminal device still detects NTN TAC2, which is in the above TA list; at time T4, the first timer has not timed out. At this time, since NTN restores TAC2, the terminal device continues to maintain {TN TAC3, NTN TAC2} and does not update NTN's TA.

[0114] In some examples, at time T4, the first timer has not timed out, that is, within the duration of the first timer, the NTN TAC is restored, and at this time, the TA update may not be performed.

[0115] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, when the TAC in the first broadcast message belongs to the TA list and the TAC in the second broadcast message does not belong to the TA list, the ping-pong effect at the edge of the NTN cell is reduced by introducing the first timer and the second timer.

[0116] In some embodiments, when the TAC in the first broadcast message does not belong to the TA list, and the TAC in the second broadcast message belongs to the TA list, the above step S306 may specifically include:

[0117] Whether to trigger TA update is determined according to the TA list, the TAC in the first broadcast message, the TAC in the second broadcast message, and the displacement speed of the terminal.

[0118] The determining whether to trigger the TA update based on the displacement speed of the terminal may include:

[0119] When the displacement speed of the terminal is greater than the preset speed, the TA update of the TN is not performed;

[0120] When the displacement speed of the terminal is not greater than the preset speed, the TA update of the TN is performed.

[0121] The following is combined with Figure 5 Explain the above process.

[0122] like Figure 5 As shown, the terminal device calculates the moving speed V of the terminal according to the change of the location information. If the terminal V located at TN TAC4 is greater than the preset speed, TN TAC4 is deleted, only NTN TAC5 is maintained, and the TA update of TN is not performed.

[0123] When the terminal moves to TN TAC2, V is less than or equal to the preset speed. At this time, the terminal adds TN TAC2, maintains the TA list {TN TAC2, NTN TAC5}, and restores the TAU of TN.

[0124] In the disclosed embodiment, in the case where the TAC in the first broadcast message does not belong to the TA list and the TAC in the second broadcast message belongs to the TA list, the user speed is judged by the change in location information, so that high-speed mobile users can stay in the NTN cell, reducing the signaling overhead of frequent TA updates of the TN.

[0125] In some embodiments, in the above step S306, when the TAC in the first broadcast message belongs to the TA list and the TAC in the second broadcast message belongs to the TA list, the TA update may not be triggered.

[0126] In some embodiments, in the above step S306, when the TAC in the first broadcast message does not belong to the TA list and the TAC in the second broadcast message does not belong to the TA list, the TA update of the TN and the TA update of the NTN may be triggered.

[0127] For ease of understanding, the technical solution provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure is described below with reference to a specific example.

[0128] The NTN network in the above embodiment may be a satellite network, and the TN network may be a terrestrial cellular network.

[0129] The satellite network TA can be bound to the ground location, that is, the satellite network TA does not change with the movement of the satellite. The satellite network and the terrestrial cellular network broadcast their respective TACs in the broadcast message.

[0130] Before step S302 of the above embodiment, the network side may first configure a TA list for the terminal, where the TA list includes two parts: one includes both TACs of TN cells and TACs of NTN cells, for example {TN TAC1, TN TAC2, NTN TAC3, NTN TAC4}.

[0131] Subsequently, the terminal device may continue to execute step S302 and step S304. The terminal monitors the broadcast message at the TN and NTN deployment frequency points and reads the TAC, and then executes step S306 in the above embodiment.

[0132] When the terminal device reads the TAC, different situations may occur. For different situations, the specific implementation process in step S306 may be different.

[0133] like Figure 6 As shown, when the terminal device reads the TAC, the following four situations may occur but are not limited to:

[0134] 1) The monitored TN TAC does not belong to the TA list, and the monitored NTN TAC does not belong to the TA list.

[0135] At this time, the TA list may be updated in step S306, and the TA update process of the TN and NTN may be performed.

[0136] 2) The monitored TN TAC belongs to the TA list, and the monitored NTN TAC does not belong to the TA list.

[0137] At this time, it is necessary to determine whether NTN TAC is restored in the market of the first timer. If it is restored, TA update is not performed; if it is not restored, NTN's TA update is performed.

[0138] 3) The monitored TN TAC does not belong to the TA list, and the monitored NTN TA belongs to the TAC list.

[0139] At this time, it is necessary to determine whether the terminal speed v is greater than the preset speed. If it is greater than the preset speed, TA update is not performed; if it is not greater than the preset speed, TA update of TN is performed.

[0140] 4) The monitored TN TAC belongs to the TA list, and the monitored NTN TA belongs to the TAC list.

[0141] At this time, the TA update of TN and NTN may not be performed in step S306.

[0142] The existing TA selection and update methods do not take into account the scenario of integrated air-ground joint networking, and each network performs TA selection and update independently.

[0143] In the disclosed embodiment, firstly, a TA list including both TN TAC and NTN TAC is configured for the terminal, so that the terminal can reside in both TN and NTN networks at the same time, thus realizing complementary coverage of different networks. Secondly, an NTN TA update timer is introduced to reduce the ping-pong effect of TA update at the edge of NTN TA; finally, the user speed is judged by the change of location information, so that high-speed mobile users can reside in NTN cells, thus reducing the signaling overhead of frequent TAU ​​of TN.

[0144] Based on the same inventive concept, the present disclosure also provides a tracking area TA updating device, as described in the following embodiments. Since the principle of solving the problem in the device embodiment is similar to that in the above method embodiment, the implementation of the device embodiment can refer to the implementation of the above method embodiment, and the repeated parts will not be repeated.

[0145] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of a tracking area TA updating device in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0146] like Figure 7 As shown, the tracking area TA updating device 700 includes:

[0147] A list acquisition module 702 is used to acquire a TA list allocated by the network side, wherein the TA list includes a tracking area code TAC of a terrestrial network TN cell and a TAC of a non-terrestrial network NTN cell;

[0148] A broadcast message receiving module 704, configured to receive a first broadcast message from the TN and a second broadcast message from the NTN;

[0149] The update processing module 706 is used to determine whether to trigger the execution of TA update according to the TA list, the TAC in the first broadcast message and the TAC in the second broadcast message.

[0150] In some embodiments, when the TAC in the first broadcast message belongs to the TA list and the TAC in the second broadcast message does not belong to the TA list, the update processing module 706 may be specifically configured to perform the following steps:

[0151] When the TAC in at least one of the second broadcast messages received before the first timer expires belongs to the TA list, starting a second timer;

[0152] Before the second timer times out, if at least one TAC in the received second broadcast message belongs to the TA list, the TA update is not performed.

[0153] In some embodiments, the update processing module 706 may also be used to perform the following steps:

[0154] Before the first timer times out, when none of the TACs in the received second broadcast message belongs to the TA list, the TA update of the NTN is triggered.

[0155] In some embodiments, when the TAC in the first broadcast message does not belong to the TA list, and the TAC in the second broadcast message belongs to the TA list, the update processing module 706 may be specifically configured to perform the following steps:

[0156] Whether to trigger TA update is determined according to the TA list, the TAC in the first broadcast message, the TAC in the second broadcast message, and the displacement speed of the terminal.

[0157] In some embodiments, the update processing module 706 may be specifically configured to perform the following steps:

[0158] When the displacement speed of the terminal is greater than the preset speed, the TA update of the TN is not performed;

[0159] When the displacement speed of the terminal is not greater than the preset speed, the TA update of the TN is performed.

[0160] In some embodiments, when the TAC in the first broadcast message belongs to the TA list, and the TAC in the second broadcast message belongs to the TA list, the update processing module 706 may be specifically configured to perform the following steps:

[0161] According to the TA list, the TAC in the first broadcast message and the TAC in the second broadcast message, it is determined that TA update is not triggered.

[0162] In some embodiments, when the TAC in the first broadcast message does not belong to the TA list, and the TAC in the second broadcast message does not belong to the TA list, the update processing module 706 may be specifically configured to perform the following steps:

[0163] According to the TA list, the TAC in the first broadcast message and the TAC in the second broadcast message, it is determined to trigger the execution of TA update of the TN and the TA update of the NTN.

[0164] In some embodiments, each first broadcast message may carry the TAC of at least one TN cell.

[0165] In some embodiments, each second broadcast message may carry the TAC of at least one NTN cell.

[0166] In some embodiments, the TA list may be acquired by the terminal through high-layer signaling.

[0167] The tracking area TA updating device provided in the embodiment of the present application can be used to execute the tracking area TA updating method provided in the above-mentioned method embodiments. Its implementation principle and technical effect are similar, and for the sake of brief introduction, they will not be repeated here.

[0168] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various aspects of the present disclosure may be implemented as systems, methods or program products. Therefore, various aspects of the present disclosure may be specifically implemented in the following forms, namely: complete hardware implementation, complete software implementation (including firmware, microcode, etc.), or a combination of hardware and software, which may be collectively referred to herein as "circuits", "modules" or "systems".

[0169] Refer to the following Figure 8 The electronic device 800 according to this embodiment of the present disclosure is described. Figure 8 The electronic device 800 shown is merely an example and should not bring any limitation to the functions and scope of use of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0170] like Figure 8 As shown, the electronic device 800 is in the form of a general computing device. The components of the electronic device 800 may include but are not limited to: at least one processing unit 810, at least one storage unit 820, and a bus 830 connecting different system components (including the storage unit 820 and the processing unit 810).

[0171] The storage unit stores a program code, which can be executed by the processing unit 810, so that the processing unit 810 performs the steps according to various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure described in the above “Exemplary Method” section of this specification. For example, the processing unit 810 can perform the following steps in the above method embodiment:

[0172] Obtain the TA list allocated by the network side, the TA list includes the tracking area code TAC of the terrestrial network TN cell and the TAC of the non-terrestrial network NTN cell;

[0173] receiving a first broadcast message from the TN and a second broadcast message sent from the NTN;

[0174] It is determined whether to trigger TA update according to the TA list, the TAC in the first broadcast message and the TAC in the second broadcast message.

[0175] The storage unit 820 may include a readable medium in the form of a volatile storage unit, such as a random access memory unit (RAM) 8201 and / or a cache memory unit 8202 , and may further include a read-only memory unit (ROM) 8203 .

[0176] The storage unit 820 may also include a program / utility 8204 having a set (at least one) of program modules 8205, such program modules 8205 including but not limited to: an operating system, one or more application programs, other program modules, and program data, each of which or some combination may include an implementation of a network environment.

[0177] Bus 830 may represent one or more of several types of bus structures, including a memory unit bus or memory unit controller, a peripheral bus, an accelerated graphics port, a processing unit, or a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures.

[0178] The electronic device 800 may also communicate with one or more external devices 840 (e.g., keyboards, pointing devices, Bluetooth devices, etc.), may also communicate with one or more devices that enable a user to interact with the electronic device 800, and / or communicate with any device that enables the electronic device 800 to communicate with one or more other computing devices (e.g., routers, modems, etc.). Such communication may be performed via an input / output (I / O) interface 850. Furthermore, the electronic device 800 may also communicate with one or more networks (e.g., local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), and / or public networks, such as the Internet) via a network adapter 860. As shown, the network adapter 860 communicates with other modules of the electronic device 800 via a bus 830. It should be understood that, although not shown in the figure, other hardware and / or software modules may be used in conjunction with the electronic device 800, including but not limited to: microcode, device drivers, redundant processing units, external disk drive arrays, RAID systems, tape drives, and data backup storage systems, etc.

[0179] Through the description of the above implementation, it is easy for those skilled in the art to understand that the example implementation described here can be implemented by software, or by software combined with necessary hardware. Therefore, the technical solution according to the implementation of the present disclosure can be embodied in the form of a software product, which can be stored in a non-volatile storage medium (which can be a CD-ROM, a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, etc.) or on a network, including several instructions to enable a computing device (which can be a personal computer, a server, a terminal device, or a network device, etc.) to execute the method according to the implementation of the present disclosure.

[0180] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is also provided, which may be a readable signal medium or a readable storage medium. A program product capable of implementing the above method of the present disclosure is stored thereon. In some possible implementations, various aspects of the present disclosure may also be implemented in the form of a program product, which includes a program code, and when the program product is run on a terminal device, the program code is used to cause the terminal device to execute the steps according to various exemplary implementations of the present disclosure described in the above “Exemplary Method” section of this specification.

[0181] More specific examples of computer-readable storage media in the present disclosure may include, but are not limited to, an electrical connection having one or more conductors, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0182] In the present disclosure, a computer readable storage medium may include a data signal propagated in baseband or as part of a carrier wave, wherein a readable program code is carried. Such propagated data signals may take a variety of forms, including but not limited to electromagnetic signals, optical signals, or any suitable combination of the above. A readable signal medium may also be any readable medium other than a readable storage medium, which may send, propagate, or transmit a program for use by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0183] Alternatively, the program code contained on the computer-readable storage medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wired, optical cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0184] In a specific implementation, the program code for performing the operations of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including object-oriented programming languages ​​such as Java, C++, etc., and conventional procedural programming languages ​​such as "C" or similar programming languages. The program code may be executed entirely on the user computing device, partially on the user device, as a separate software package, partially on the user computing device and partially on a remote computing device, or entirely on a remote computing device or server. In the case of a remote computing device, the remote computing device may be connected to the user computing device through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or may be connected to an external computing device (e.g., using an Internet service provider to connect through the Internet).

[0185] It should be noted that, although several modules or units of the device for action execution are mentioned in the above detailed description, this division is not mandatory. In fact, according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the features and functions of two or more modules or units described above can be embodied in one module or unit. On the contrary, the features and functions of one module or unit described above can be further divided into multiple modules or units to be embodied.

[0186] In addition, although the steps of the method in the present disclosure are described in a specific order in the drawings, this does not require or imply that the steps must be performed in this specific order, or that all the steps shown must be performed to achieve the desired results. Additionally or alternatively, some steps may be omitted, multiple steps may be combined into one step, and / or one step may be decomposed into multiple steps, etc.

[0187] Through the description of the above implementation, it is easy for those skilled in the art to understand that the example implementation described here can be implemented by software, or by software combined with necessary hardware. Therefore, the technical solution according to the implementation of the present disclosure can be embodied in the form of a software product, which can be stored in a non-volatile storage medium (which can be a CD-ROM, a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, etc.) or on a network, including several instructions to enable a computing device (which can be a personal computer, a server, a mobile terminal, or a network device, etc.) to execute the method according to the implementation of the present disclosure.

[0188] Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate other embodiments of the present disclosure after considering the specification and practicing the invention disclosed herein. The present disclosure is intended to cover any variations, uses or adaptations of the present disclosure, which follow the general principles of the present disclosure and include common knowledge or customary techniques in the art that are not disclosed in the present disclosure. The description and examples are intended to be exemplary only, and the true scope and spirit of the present disclosure are indicated by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A tracking area TA updating method, applied to a terminal, characterized in that: The method comprises: Acquire a TA list allocated by the network side, wherein the TA list includes a tracking area code TAC of a terrestrial network TN cell and a TAC of a non-terrestrial network NTN cell; receiving a first broadcast message from the TN and a second broadcast message from the NTN; Determine whether to trigger TA update according to the TA list, the TAC in the first broadcast message, and the TAC in the second broadcast message.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that When the TAC in the first broadcast message belongs to the TA list, and the TAC in the second broadcast message does not belong to the TA list, determining whether to trigger TA update according to the TA list, the TAC in the first broadcast message, and the TAC in the second broadcast message includes: When the TAC in at least one of the second broadcast messages received before the first timer expires belongs to the TA list, starting a second timer; Before the second timer times out, if at least one TAC in the received second broadcast message belongs to the TA list, TA update is not performed.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The determining whether to trigger TA update according to the TA list, the TAC in the first broadcast message, and the TAC in the second broadcast message further includes: Before the first timer times out, when none of the TACs in the received second broadcast message belongs to the TA list, the TA update of the NTN is triggered.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the TAC in the first broadcast message does not belong to the TA list, and the TAC in the second broadcast message belongs to the TA list, determining whether to trigger TA update according to the TA list, the TAC in the first broadcast message, and the TAC in the second broadcast message includes: Determine whether to trigger TA update according to the TA list, the TAC in the first broadcast message, the TAC in the second broadcast message, and the displacement speed of the terminal.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The determining whether to trigger TA update according to the TA list, the TAC in the first broadcast message, the TAC in the second broadcast message, and the displacement speed of the terminal includes: When the displacement speed of the terminal is greater than a preset speed, the TA update of the TN is not performed; When the displacement speed of the terminal is not greater than the preset speed, the TA of the TN is updated.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that When the TAC in the first broadcast message belongs to the TA list, and the TAC in the second broadcast message belongs to the TA list, determining whether to trigger TA update according to the TA list, the TAC in the first broadcast message, and the TAC in the second broadcast message includes: According to the TA list, the TAC in the first broadcast message, and the TAC in the second broadcast message, it is determined not to trigger TA update.

7. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that When the TAC in the first broadcast message does not belong to the TA list, and the TAC in the second broadcast message does not belong to the TA list, determining whether to trigger TA update according to the TA list, the TAC in the first broadcast message, and the TAC in the second broadcast message includes: According to the TA list, the TAC in the first broadcast message and the TAC in the second broadcast message, it is determined to trigger the execution of TA update of the TN and the TA update of the NTN.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: Each of the first broadcast messages carries the TAC of at least one TN cell.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: Each of the second broadcast messages carries the TAC of at least one NTN cell.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The TA list is acquired by the terminal through high-layer signaling.

11. A tracking area TA updating device, applied to a terminal, characterized in that: The device comprises: A list acquisition module, used to acquire a TA list allocated by the network side, wherein the TA list includes a tracking area code TAC of a terrestrial network TN cell and a TAC of a non-terrestrial network NTN cell; A broadcast message receiving module, used for receiving a first broadcast message from the TN and a second broadcast message from the NTN; An update processing module is used to determine whether to trigger the execution of TA update according to the TA list, the TAC in the first broadcast message and the TAC in the second broadcast message.

12. An electronic device, characterized in that: include: processor; as well as A memory, configured to store executable instructions of the processor; The processor is configured to execute the tracking area TA updating method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 by executing the executable instructions.

13. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that: When the computer program is executed by a processor, the tracking area TA updating method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 is implemented.

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