Communication method, system and terminal based on non-ground network

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of communication, and further relates to a communication method and system based on a non-ground network, and a terminal. The method comprises the following steps: when the terminal is switched from a connected state to an idle state, a timer of the terminal is kept working normally, and the timer is used for monitoring the effective duration of ephemeris information; and controlling the terminal to be switched from an idle state to a connected state according to the ephemeris information when the terminal has a service demand within the effective duration of the ephemeris information, thereby completing communication between the terminal and a satellite. According to the method, when the terminal is in the idle state, the timer is kept to work normally, so that the terminal can directly enter the connection state without reading the ephemeris information in the system information block when the terminal has a service demand again within the validity period of the ephemeris information, and the delay of a communication link between the terminal and a satellite is effectively reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and further to a communication method, system and terminal based on a non-terrestrial network. Background Art

[0002] 5G Non-Terrestrial Network (5G NTN) is a revolutionary technology that represents the expansion of 5G communications from traditional ground base stations to non-terrestrial environments including satellite communications. When a terminal accesses a 5G non-terrestrial network, it first needs to receive the ephemeris information broadcast by the network and then enter the connected state to conduct business. However, each time the terminal enters the connected state, it needs to re-read the ephemeris information, which increases the delay of the communication link between the terminal and the satellite. Summary of the invention

[0003] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present application provides a communication method, system and terminal based on a non-terrestrial network, which reduces the delay of the communication link between the terminal and the satellite.

[0004] In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method based on a non-terrestrial network, comprising: when a terminal switches from a connected state to an idle state, keeping a timer of the terminal working normally, the timer being used to monitor the effective duration of ephemeris information; when a service demand occurs at the terminal within the effective duration of the ephemeris information, controlling the terminal to switch from an idle state to a connected state according to the ephemeris information, thereby completing communication between the terminal and the satellite.

[0005] In the above communication method based on non-terrestrial network, when the terminal is in idle state, the timer keeps working normally, so that when the terminal has business needs again within the validity period of the ephemeris information, it can directly enter the connected state without reading the ephemeris information in the system information block, which effectively reduces the delay of the communication link between the terminal and the satellite.

[0006] In one implementation, it also includes: when the terminal has no business needs within the valid period of the ephemeris information, determining whether the terminal has power saving needs; when the terminal has no power saving needs, continuing to keep the timer working normally; when the timer monitors that the ephemeris information is invalid, controlling the terminal to update the ephemeris information and resetting the timer.

[0007] In one implementation, it also includes: when the terminal has a power saving demand, turning off the timer so that the terminal stops updating the ephemeris information; if the terminal has a business demand during the power saving process, controlling the terminal to read the ephemeris information in the system information block; according to the ephemeris information, controlling the terminal to enter a connected state and turning on the timer to complete the communication between the terminal and the satellite.

[0008] The above communication method based on non-terrestrial network, when there is no business demand of the terminal within the validity period of the current ephemeris information, controls the opening or closing of the timer according to the power saving demand of the terminal, so that the terminal without power saving demand can continuously update the ephemeris information, and the terminal with power saving demand can not actively update the ephemeris information in the idle state in order to save power, thereby improving the user experience and the compatibility of this application.

[0009] In one implementation, the system information block includes SIB31-NB and SIB19.

[0010] In one implementation, the terminal includes a plug-in powered terminal and a battery powered terminal.

[0011] In the second aspect, the present application also provides a communication system based on a non-terrestrial network, including: a control unit, used to keep the timer of the terminal working normally when the terminal switches from a connected state to an idle state, and the timer is used to monitor the effective duration of ephemeris information; a communication unit, used to control the terminal to switch from an idle state to a connected state according to the ephemeris information when a business demand arises at the terminal within the effective duration of the ephemeris information, so as to complete the communication between the terminal and the satellite.

[0012] In one implementation, it also includes: a judgment unit, used to judge whether the terminal has a power saving demand when the terminal has no business demand within the valid period of the ephemeris information; the control unit is also used to continue to keep the timer working normally when the terminal has no power saving demand; the control unit is also used to control the terminal to update the ephemeris information and reset the timer when the timer monitors that the ephemeris information is invalid.

[0013] In one implementation, the control unit is further used to turn off the timer when the terminal has a power saving demand, so that the terminal stops updating the ephemeris information; the control unit is also used to control the terminal to read the ephemeris information in the system information block if the terminal has a business demand during the power saving process; the communication unit is also used to control the terminal to enter a connected state and turn on the timer according to the ephemeris information, so as to complete the communication between the terminal and the satellite.

[0014] In one implementation, the system information block includes SIB31-NB and SIB19.

[0015] In a third aspect, the present application also provides a terminal for communicating with a satellite through any of the above-mentioned non-terrestrial network-based communication methods.

[0016] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has at least one of the following beneficial effects:

[0017] 1. When the terminal is in idle state, the timer is kept working normally, so that when the terminal has business needs again within the validity period of the ephemeris information, it can directly enter the connected state without reading the ephemeris information in the system information block, which effectively reduces the delay of the communication link between the terminal and the satellite.

[0018] 2. When there is no business demand on the terminal within the validity period of the current ephemeris information, the timer is turned on or off according to the power saving needs of the terminal, so that terminals without power saving needs can continuously update ephemeris information. Terminals with power saving needs can not actively update ephemeris information in idle state in order to save power, thereby improving the user experience and the compatibility of this application. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] The preferred implementation modes will be described below in a clear and understandable manner with reference to the accompanying drawings to further illustrate the above-mentioned characteristics, technical features, advantages and implementation methods of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 1 A flow chart of a communication method based on a non-terrestrial network provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0021] Figure 2 A flow chart of a communication method based on a non-terrestrial network provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0022] Figure 3 A flow chart of a communication method based on a non-terrestrial network provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the specific implementation methods of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings and other implementation methods can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work.

[0024] In order to simplify the drawings, only the parts related to the invention are schematically shown in each figure, and they do not represent the actual structure of the product. In addition, in order to simplify the drawings and facilitate understanding, in some figures, only one of the parts with the same structure or function is schematically drawn or marked. In this article, "one" not only means "only one", but also means "more than one".

[0025] It should be further understood that the term “and / or” used in the specification and appended claims refers to any combination and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items, and includes these combinations.

[0026] In this document, it should be noted that, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection, or it can be indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, or it can be the internal communication of two components. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0027] In addition, in the description of the present application, the terms "first", "second", etc. are only used to distinguish the description and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0028] It should be noted that the above embodiments can be freely combined as needed. The above are only preferred embodiments of the present invention. It should be pointed out that for ordinary technicians in this technical field, several improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the principle of the present invention, and these improvements and modifications should also be regarded as the protection scope of the present invention.

[0029] 5G NTN includes two major technical routes: IoT NTN and NR NTN. IoT NTN inherits NB-IoT technology and focuses on low-speed data transmission and short message services in the field of Internet of Things; while NR NTN is based on 5G NR technology and is committed to providing broadband data, voice and fixed wireless access services. The key to accessing the NTN network lies in whether the terminal equipment can successfully receive and parse the ephemeris information broadcast by the network. To this end, the 3GPP protocol has added SIB31-NB system information blocks and SIB19 system information blocks specifically for IoT-NTN and NR-NTN to broadcast the ephemeris information of the satellite. These system information blocks are broadcast periodically, but for the terminal, the received ephemeris information has a validity period, which is set by the parameter ul-SyncValidityDuration-r17.

[0030] For a terminal in an idle state, if it is necessary to re-enter a connected state to conduct services, the protocol stipulates that the ephemeris information in the SIB31-NB system information block and the SIB19 system information block must be successfully read first. During the validity period of the ephemeris information, the terminal does not need to re-read the SIB31-NB system information block and the SIB19 system information block to conduct uplink and downlink services in the connected state. For a terminal in an idle state, if the timer of the terminal is turned off, even if the ephemeris information is still within the validity period, the terminal still needs to re-read the SIB31-NB system information block and the SIB19 system information block to obtain the latest ephemeris information before trying to enter a connected state. The present application can achieve at least one of the following beneficial effects by keeping the timer working normally when the terminal is in an idle state, so that when a service demand arises within the validity period of the ephemeris information, the terminal directly switches from an idle state to a connected state. It reduces the delay of the communication link and increases the user experience.

[0031] The following is explained with reference to the accompanying drawings:

[0032] Reference Figure 1 , which shows a flow chart of a communication method based on a non-terrestrial network provided by an embodiment of the present application. Figure 1 As shown, including:

[0033] S100, when the terminal switches from the connected state to the idle state, the timer of the terminal is kept to work normally, and the timer is used to monitor the validity period of the ephemeris information.

[0034] S110, when a service demand occurs in the terminal within the effective time of the ephemeris information, the terminal is controlled to switch from an idle state to a connected state according to the ephemeris information, so as to complete the communication between the terminal and the satellite.

[0035] The terminal may include an IoT NTN terminal and an NR NTN terminal. The system information block to be read by the IoT NTN terminal is the SIB31-NB system information block, and the system information block to be read by the NR NTN terminal is the SIB19 system information block; the timer corresponding to the IoT NTN terminal is the T317 timer, and the timer corresponding to the NR NTN terminal is the T430 timer.

[0036] When the terminal has a business demand, the terminal receives the system information block broadcast by the network and obtains the satellite's ephemeris information from the system information block. Then, the terminal enters the connection state according to the ephemeris information and starts the corresponding timer to monitor the effective duration of the ephemeris information, thereby establishing a communication link between the terminal and the satellite.

[0037] After the service is completed, the terminal switches from the connected state to the idle state. At this time, the timer corresponding to the terminal is kept working normally. If the terminal has service needs again within the effective duration of the ephemeris information monitored by the timer, the terminal can directly initiate the access process to enter the connected state without obtaining the ephemeris information in the system information block.

[0038] In the embodiment of the present application, when the terminal is in an idle state, the timer is kept working normally, so that when the terminal has a business demand again within the validity period of the ephemeris information, it can directly enter the connected state without reading the ephemeris information in the system information block, thereby effectively reducing the delay of the communication link between the terminal and the satellite.

[0039] Reference Figure 2 , which shows a flow chart of a communication method based on a non-terrestrial network provided in an embodiment of the present application, such as Figure 2 As shown, including:

[0040] S200: When there is no service demand of the terminal within the valid time of the ephemeris information, it is determined whether there is a power saving demand of the terminal.

[0041] S210: When the terminal does not have a power saving requirement, the timer continues to operate normally.

[0042] S220, when the timer monitors that the ephemeris information is invalid, the control terminal updates the ephemeris information and resets the timer.

[0043] After the terminal switches from the connected state to the idle state, if no new service demand arises in the terminal within the validity period of the current ephemeris information, it is necessary to determine whether the terminal has a power saving demand. For example, when the terminal is a plug-in powered terminal, it can be considered that the terminal has no power saving demand; for example, when the terminal is a battery-powered terminal, it can be considered that the terminal has a power saving demand.

[0044] When the terminal does not have a need to save power, the timer of the control terminal continues to work normally. After the timer monitors that the current ephemeris information is invalid, the terminal's update mechanism is triggered, that is, the terminal receives new ephemeris information in the system information block broadcast by the network, and resets the corresponding timer, so that the timer continues to monitor the effective length of the new ephemeris information, so that when the terminal has a business need, it can directly switch from the idle state to the connected state without reading the ephemeris information again.

[0045] Reference Figure 3 , which shows a flow chart of a communication method based on a non-terrestrial network provided in an embodiment of the present application, such as Figure 3 As shown, including:

[0046] S300: When the terminal needs to save power, the timer is turned off to stop the terminal from updating the ephemeris information.

[0047] S310, if the terminal has a service demand during the power saving process, control the terminal to read the ephemeris information in the system information block.

[0048] S320, according to the ephemeris information, control the terminal to enter the connection state and start the timer to complete the communication between the terminal and the satellite.

[0049] After the terminal switches from the connected state to the idle state, if there is no new service demand in the terminal within the validity period of the current ephemeris information and the terminal has a power saving demand, the corresponding timer of the terminal can be turned off so that the terminal does not actively update the ephemeris information in the system information block in the idle state. If the terminal has service demand during the power saving process, it will re-receive the system information block broadcast by the network and obtain the satellite's ephemeris information from the system information block. Then, the terminal enters the connected state according to the ephemeris information, and starts the corresponding timer to monitor the validity period of the ephemeris information, and establishes a communication link between the terminal and the satellite.

[0050] In the embodiment of the present application, when there is no business demand on the terminal within the validity period of the current ephemeris information, the timer is turned on or off according to the power saving demand of the terminal, so that the terminal without power saving demand can continuously update the ephemeris information, and the terminal with power saving demand can not actively update the ephemeris information in the idle state in order to save power, thereby improving the user experience and the compatibility of the present application.

[0051] The embodiment of the present application also provides a communication method based on a non-terrestrial network, including:

[0052] When a service is initiated, the terminal reads the ephemeris information in the SIB31-NB system information block (IoT-NTN terminal) or the SIB19 system information block (NR-NTN terminal), enters the connected state to perform the service, and starts the timer T317 (IoT-NTN terminal) or the timer T430 (NR-NTN terminal); when the current service ends, the terminal returns to the idle state, but keeps the timer T317 (IoT-NTN terminal) or the timer T430 (NR-NTN terminal) running; when the terminal initiates the service again before the timer T317 (IoT-NTN terminal) or the timer T430 (NR-NTN terminal) times out, it can directly initiate the access process to enter the connected state without reading the system message block. In this scenario, the time it takes for the terminal to enter the connected state can be greatly reduced, ultimately achieving the purpose of reducing communication delay; when the terminal is in the timer T317 (IoT-NTN terminal) or the timer T430 (NR-NTN terminal), the terminal returns to the idle state. 30 (NR-NTN terminal) has not been initiated after the timeout. Depending on whether the terminal has power saving requirements, there are two ways to maintain the timer: for terminals with power saving requirements (such as battery-powered terminals), in order to save power, the terminal does not actively update the system message in the idle state, and reads the SIB31-NB system information block (IoT-NTN terminal) or SIB19 system information block (NR-NTN terminal) until the next service comes, and enters the connected state; for terminals without power saving requirements (such as plug-in powered terminals), keep the timer T317 (IoT-NTN terminal) or timer T430 (NR-NTN terminal) running in the idle state. When the timer times out, the SIB31-NB system information block (IoT-NTN terminal) or SIB19 system information block (NR-NTN terminal) is immediately updated to keep the terminal's ephemeris information up to date so that it can quickly enter the connected state when there is business.

[0053] An embodiment of the present application also provides a communication system based on a non-terrestrial network, including: a control unit, used to keep the terminal's timer working normally when the terminal switches from a connected state to an idle state, and the timer is used to monitor the effective duration of ephemeris information; a communication unit, used to control the terminal to switch from an idle state to a connected state according to the ephemeris information when a business demand arises at the terminal within the effective duration of the ephemeris information, so as to complete the communication between the terminal and the satellite.

[0054] When the terminal has a business demand, the terminal receives the system information block broadcast by the network and obtains the satellite's ephemeris information from the system information block. Then, the terminal enters the connection state according to the ephemeris information and starts the corresponding timer to monitor the effective duration of the ephemeris information, thereby establishing a communication link between the terminal and the satellite.

[0055] After the service is completed, the terminal switches from the connected state to the idle state. At this time, the control unit keeps the timer corresponding to the terminal working normally. If the terminal has service needs again within the effective duration of the ephemeris information monitored by the timer, the terminal can directly initiate the access process to enter the connected state without obtaining the ephemeris information in the system information block.

[0056] In some embodiments of the present application, it also includes: a judgment unit, which is used to judge whether the terminal has a power saving demand when there is no business demand in the terminal within the valid time of the ephemeris information; a control unit, which is also used to continue to keep the timer working normally when there is no power saving demand in the terminal; the control unit is also used to control the terminal to update the ephemeris information and reset the timer when the timer monitors that the ephemeris information is invalid.

[0057] After the terminal switches from a connected state to an idle state, if no new service demand arises from the terminal within the validity period of the current ephemeris information, the judgment unit judges whether the terminal has a power saving demand. For example, when the terminal is a plug-in powered terminal, it can be considered that the terminal has no power saving demand; for example, when the terminal is a battery-powered terminal, it can be considered that the terminal has a power saving demand.

[0058] When the terminal does not have a power saving requirement, the control unit controls the timer of the terminal to continue to work normally. After the timer monitors that the current ephemeris information is invalid, the terminal's update mechanism is triggered, that is, the control unit controls the terminal to receive new ephemeris information in the system information block broadcast by the network, and resets the corresponding timer, so that the timer continues to monitor the effective length of the new ephemeris information, so that when the terminal has a business demand, it can directly switch from the idle state to the connected state without reading the ephemeris information again.

[0059] In some embodiments of the present application, the control unit is also used to turn off the timer when the terminal has a power saving demand, so that the terminal stops updating the ephemeris information; the control unit is also used to control the terminal to read the ephemeris information in the system information block if the terminal has a business demand during the power saving process; the communication unit is also used to control the terminal to enter the connected state and start the timer according to the ephemeris information to complete the communication between the terminal and the satellite.

[0060] After the terminal switches from the connected state to the idle state, if there is no new service demand in the terminal within the validity period of the current ephemeris information and the terminal has a power saving demand, the control unit can turn off the timer corresponding to the terminal so that the terminal does not actively update the ephemeris information in the system information block in the idle state. If the terminal has a service demand during the power saving process, the control unit will re-control the terminal to receive the system information block broadcast by the network and obtain the satellite's ephemeris information from the system information block. Then, the communication unit controls the terminal to enter the connected state according to the ephemeris information, and at the same time starts the corresponding timer to monitor the effective duration of the ephemeris information, and establishes a communication link between the terminal and the satellite.

[0061] An embodiment of the present application also provides a terminal for communicating with a satellite through the non-terrestrial network-based communication method described in any of the above embodiments.

[0062] It should be noted that the above embodiments can be freely combined as needed. The above are only preferred embodiments of the present invention. It should be pointed out that for ordinary technicians in this technical field, several improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the principle of the present invention, and these improvements and modifications should also be regarded as the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A communication method based on a non-terrestrial network, characterized in that: include: When the terminal switches from the connected state to the idle state, keeping the timer of the terminal working normally, the timer is used to monitor the effective duration of the ephemeris information; When the terminal has a service demand within the valid time of the ephemeris information, the terminal is controlled to switch from an idle state to a connected state according to the ephemeris information to complete the communication between the terminal and the satellite.

2. The communication method based on non-terrestrial network according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also includes: When the terminal has no service demand within the valid time of the ephemeris information, determining whether the terminal has a power saving demand; When the terminal does not have a power saving requirement, continuing to keep the timer working normally; When the timer monitors that the ephemeris information is invalid, the terminal is controlled to update the ephemeris information and reset the timer.

3. The communication method based on non-terrestrial network according to claim 2, characterized in that: Also includes: When the terminal has a power saving requirement, turning off the timer so that the terminal stops updating the ephemeris information; If the terminal has a service demand during the power saving process, controlling the terminal to read the ephemeris information in the system information block; According to the ephemeris information, the terminal is controlled to enter a connected state and the timer is started to complete the communication between the terminal and the satellite.

4. The communication method based on non-terrestrial network according to claim 3, characterized in that: The system information block includes SIB31-NB and SIB19.

5. The communication method based on non-terrestrial network according to claim 1, characterized in that: The terminals include plug-in powered terminals and battery powered terminals.

6. A communication system based on a non-terrestrial network, characterized in that: include: A control unit, used for maintaining a timer of the terminal to work normally when the terminal switches from a connected state to an idle state, the timer being used for monitoring the effective duration of the ephemeris information; The communication unit is used to control the terminal to switch from an idle state to a connected state according to the ephemeris information when the terminal has a service demand within the effective time of the ephemeris information, so as to complete the communication between the terminal and the satellite.

7. The non-terrestrial network-based communication system according to claim 6, characterized in that: Also includes: A judgment unit, configured to judge whether the terminal has a power saving demand when no service demand occurs at the terminal within the valid time of the ephemeris information; The control unit is further configured to continue to keep the timer working normally when the terminal does not have a power saving requirement; The control unit is further configured to control the terminal to update the ephemeris information and reset the timer when the timer monitors that the ephemeris information is invalid.

8. The non-terrestrial network-based communication system according to claim 7, characterized in that: The control unit is further configured to turn off the timer when the terminal has a power saving requirement, so that the terminal stops updating the ephemeris information; The control unit is further configured to control the terminal to read the ephemeris information in the system information block if the terminal has a service demand during the power saving process; The communication unit is further used to control the terminal to enter a connected state and start the timer according to the ephemeris information, so as to complete the communication between the terminal and the satellite.

9. The non-terrestrial network-based communication system according to claim 8, characterized in that: The system information block includes SIB31-NB and SIB19.

10. A terminal, characterized in that: Used to communicate with a satellite through the non-terrestrial network-based communication method described in any one of claims 1-5.

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