Paging method and device for satellite communication, computer readable storage medium and base station

Abstract

A paging method and device for satellite communication, a computer readable storage medium, and a base station, the paging method comprising: receiving a feeder link switching request sent by a source base station, the feeder link switching request comprising a paging requirement of at least one user equipment expected to page in a target cell; and sending a paging message for the at least one user equipment according to the paging requirement. Through the technical scheme of the invention, the paging consistency before and after feeder link switching can be ensured.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a paging method and device for satellite communication, a computer-readable storage medium, and a base station. Background Art

[0002] In order to solve the coverage problem of wireless communication networks and enable the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) wireless communication network to cover a larger area, especially vast wilderness areas and uninhabited areas, and realize the Internet of Things management and control in these areas, 3GPP introduced the satellite communication non-terrestrial access network (NTN), that is, to achieve coverage of large areas through artificial satellites.

[0003] At present, NTN has two application modes: transparent mode and rebirth mode. In transparent mode, the signal sent by the user equipment (UE) is forwarded to the ground antenna via the satellite, and then transmitted back to the "base station on the ground" by the ground antenna, and then connected to the data network through UPF. Among them, the connection between UE and satellite is called service link, and the connection between satellite and NTN gateway is called feeder link. Among them, the satellite and NTN gateway do not have any high-level protocol stacks, and only do simple signal forwarding. The high-level protocol stacks on the UE side and the base station side are the same as the existing fifth-generation mobile communication technology (5th generation mobile networks or 5th generation wireless systems, 5G) network. In rebirth mode, it is equivalent to placing the function of the base station on the satellite. All processing protocol stacks of the base station are located in the satellite. The interface between UE and satellite is equivalent to the interface between UE and base station during ground communication. After the base station located on the satellite completes signal processing, it transmits data with the NTN gateway located on the ground, and then connects to the data network through UPF. Since the transparent mode is easy to implement, compared with the existing terrestrial 3GPP network, only satellites and NTN gateways need to be added, and other equipment remains unchanged, so the transparent mode is often used in actual operations.

[0004] In transparent mode, as the satellite moves continuously, the distance between the satellite and the ground NTN gateway also changes continuously, and the attenuation of the wireless signal in the feeder link also changes continuously. When the signal attenuation reaches a certain level, it is unable to provide normal data transmission, and a feederlink switch is required, that is, the satellite replaces an NTN gateway and establishes a new feederlink connection. Feederlink switching is divided into two categories: hard switching and soft switching. Hard switching means that the satellite first disconnects from the old NTN gateway and then establishes a connection with the new NTN gateway. There is a short period of time during the switching, and the satellite is not connected to any NTN gateway. During this period, the UE's data connection is actually disconnected. Soft switching means that the satellite first establishes a connection with the new NTN gateway and then disconnects from the old NTN gateway. There is a short period of time during the switching, and the satellite is connected to two NTN gateways at the same time. Since feederlink soft switching does not cause data transmission interruption, it is more commonly used.

[0005] However, during feederlink switching, since the broadcast information of the source serving cell and the target cell changes before and after the switching, such as the Tracking Area (TA) changes, the UE that is being paged before the switching cannot be paged after the switching. Summary of the invention

[0006] The technical problem solved by the present invention is how to ensure the consistency of paging before and after the feeder link switching.

[0007] To solve the above technical problems, an embodiment of the present invention provides a paging method for satellite communication, the paging method for satellite communication comprising: receiving a feeder link switching request, the feeder link switching request including a paging request of at least one user equipment desired to be paged in a target cell; and sending a paging message for the at least one user equipment according to the paging request.

[0008] Optionally, the paging requirements include one or more of the following: an identifier of the at least one user device; an identifier of the tracking area to which the at least one user device belongs; a paging priority of the at least one user device; an ability of the at least one user device to receive paging in various types of communication networks; a paging source of the at least one user device; paging assistance information of the at least one user device; a discontinuous reception period of the at least one user device during narrowband Internet of Things paging; enhanced coverage parameters of the at least one user device; and a wake-up signal parameter of the at least one user device.

[0009] Optionally, the paging source is selected from AMF triggering and RAN triggering.

[0010] Optionally, the paging assistance information is selected from the number of times the paging is expected to be sent, the cell in which the paging is expected to be sent, and / or the coverage strength of the expected paging.

[0011] Optionally, sending the paging message for the at least one user equipment according to the paging requirement includes: if the paging requirement includes the paging priority of the at least one user equipment, sending the paging message for the at least one user equipment according to the paging priority; and / or, if the enhanced coverage parameter in the paging requirement is that enhanced coverage is required, increasing the number of times the paging message for the at least one user equipment is sent; and / or, if the wake-up signal parameter in the paging requirement is that a wake-up signal is required, first sending a wake-up signal for the at least one user equipment, and then sending the paging message for the at least one user equipment.

[0012] Optionally, the paging method also includes: sending a paging request of one or more user equipment among the at least one user equipment to the AMF, so that the AMF updates the context of the core network.

[0013] Optionally, the feeder link switching request also includes information about a satellite connected to the source base station via a feeder link, and the feeder link switching request is used to request the target base station to establish a new feeder link with the satellite.

[0014] To solve the above technical problems, an embodiment of the present invention further discloses a paging method for satellite communication, the paging method for satellite communication comprising: sending a feeder link switching request, the feeder link switching request comprising a paging request of at least one user equipment desired to be paged in a target cell, so that the target base station sends a paging message for the at least one user equipment according to the paging request.

[0015] Optionally, before sending the feeder link switching request to the target base station, the method also includes: obtaining configuration information of the target cell and notifying the user equipment, wherein the configuration information includes an identifier of the target cell and / or a frequency of the target cell, so that the user equipment can perform cell measurement according to the configuration information.

[0016] Optionally, the configuration information also includes the SSB sequence and / or SSB configuration information of the target cell.

[0017] Optionally, obtaining the configuration information of the target cell includes: obtaining the configuration information of the target cell through a network management platform, a network management entity and / or a third-party configuration entity; or, obtaining a configuration information list through a network management platform, a network management entity and / or a third-party configuration entity, and selecting the configuration information from the configuration information list, wherein the configuration information list includes multiple sets of configuration information.

[0018] Optionally, the paging method further includes: determining a delay duration, and notifying the user equipment of the configuration information together with the delay duration, so that the user equipment performs cell measurement according to the configuration information after the delay duration.

[0019] Optionally, the delay duration is a minimum value, a maximum value or an average value of the satellite air interface transmission delay corresponding to the target cell.

[0020] An embodiment of the present invention also discloses a paging device for satellite communication, the paging device comprising: a feeder link switching request receiving module, used to receive a feeder link switching request, the feeder link switching request including a paging request of at least one user equipment desired to be paged in a target cell; a paging sending module, used to send a paging message for the at least one user equipment according to the paging request.

[0021] An embodiment of the present invention also discloses a paging device for satellite communication, the paging device comprising: a feeder link switching request sending module, used to send a feeder link switching request to a target base station, the feeder link switching request including a paging request of at least one user equipment expected to be paged in the target cell, the target base station sending a paging message for the at least one user equipment according to the paging request.

[0022] The embodiment of the present invention further discloses a computer-readable storage medium on which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the paging method for satellite communication are executed.

[0023] An embodiment of the present invention further discloses a base station, including a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program that can be run on the processor, and the processor executes the steps of the paging method for satellite communication when running the computer program.

[0024] Compared with the prior art, the technical solution of the embodiment of the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0025] In the technical solution of the present invention, when the source base station sends a feeder link switching request, it can notify the target base station of the paging request of at least one user equipment that the source base station expects to page in the target cell, so that the target base station can perform paging according to the paging requirement notified by the source base station, thereby ensuring the consistency of paging before and after the feeder link switching, ensuring the smooth conduct of user equipment calls, and improving user experience.

[0026] Furthermore, before sending a feeder link switching request to the target base station, the configuration information of the target cell is obtained, the configuration information includes the identifier of the target cell and / or the frequency of the target cell, and the user equipment is notified so that the user equipment can perform cell measurement according to the configuration information. Compared with the prior art in which the UE starts measuring after the target base station establishes a transport layer connection with the satellite, the source base station in the technical solution of the present invention notifies the UE to perform measurement before the feeder link switching request is sent, so that the UE can start the measurement immediately after the reference signal arrives, that is, the measurement can be started in advance, thereby shortening the duration of the feeder link switching process and improving the switching efficiency. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] Figure 1 is a flow chart of a paging method for satellite communication according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 2 It is a flow chart of a paging method for satellite communication in a specific application scenario of an embodiment of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 3 is a flow chart of another paging method for satellite communication according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 4 is a flow chart of a paging method for satellite communication in another specific application scenario of an embodiment of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 5 The present invention is a schematic diagram of a paging device for satellite communication according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] As described in the background art, during feederlink switching, since the broadcast information of the source serving cell and the target cell changes before and after the switching, such as the Tracking Area (TA) changes, the UE being paged before the switching cannot be paged after the switching.

[0033] In the prior art, the core network manages the paging process of the UE in units of Tracking Area (TA), that is, the core network records the TA (essentially a list of cells) where each UE is located. If data arrives at the UE, the core network initiates a paging process to all cells in the TA corresponding to the UE. If the UE moves out of the original TA range, it will learn that the new cell is not within the original TA range by reading the cell broadcast information (the broadcast information notifies the TA to which the current cell belongs). The UE will then notify the core network through the TA update process, so that the core network will update the saved TA information so that the UE can always be found when data arrives. For NTN cells, the coverage area is large and the number of UEs is large, and the movement of the satellite is equivalent to the movement of the UE. In order to reduce the TA update process of UEs in the NTN cell, the TA is bound to a fixed geographical area during the movement of the satellite cell, and the satellite updates the TA according to the coverage of its own cell during the movement. For example, when the coverage area of ​​the satellite cell is located in Tracking area 1, the cell broadcasts tracking area 1; when the coverage area is located in Tracking area 2, the cell broadcasts tracking area 2; when the coverage area is located at the junction of Tracking area 1 and tracking area 2, the cell broadcasts tracking area 1 and tracking area 2.

[0034] The inventors of the present application have found that during the feederlink switching process, if the area where the feederlink switching occurs is located at the junction of multiple TAs, and the TAs corresponding to the source cell and the target cell are different, for example, the source cell corresponds to Tracking Area Identity (TAI) 1 and TAI 2, and the target cell corresponds to TAI 1, before the feederlink occurs, the satellite sends UE paging corresponding to TAI 1 and TAI 2, and after the feederlink occurs, within the switching time of several hundred milliseconds, the actual satellite cell coverage position does not change much, but the satellite only sends paging corresponding to TAI 1. For UEs in TAI2, they cannot receive paging after the feederlink switching.

[0035] In addition, the inventors of the present application have also found that after the target base station establishes a transport layer connection with the satellite, the satellite sends the reference signal of the target cell to the UE, but the UE does not start measuring. Instead, it starts measuring the reference signal of the target cell after receiving the notification sent by the source base station. Since the air interface transmission delay involved in satellite communication is very large, the feederlink switching process is relatively long.

[0036] In the technical solution of the present invention, when the source base station sends a feeder link switching request, it can notify the target base station of the paging request of at least one user equipment that the source base station expects to page in the target cell, so that the target base station can perform paging according to the paging requirement notified by the source base station, thereby ensuring the consistency of paging before and after the feeder link switching, ensuring the smooth conduct of user equipment calls, and improving user experience.

[0037] Furthermore, compared with the prior art in which the UE starts measurement after the target base station establishes a transmission layer connection with the satellite, the technical solution of the present invention is that the source base station notifies the UE to perform measurement before the feeder link switching request, so that the UE can start the measurement immediately after the reference signal arrives, that is, the measurement can be started in advance, thereby shortening the duration of the feeder link switching process and improving the switching efficiency.

[0038] The technical solution of this invention can be applied to 5G (5Generation) communication systems, as well as 4G and 3G communication systems, and can also be applied to various new communication systems in the future, such as 6G and 7G.

[0039] In order to make the above-mentioned objects, features and advantages of the present invention more obvious and easy to understand, specific embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0040] Figure 1 The present invention is a flowchart of a paging method for satellite communication according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0041] In this embodiment, the paging method can be used on the target base station side, that is, the target base station can perform each step of the method. The "target base station" referred to in the embodiment of the present invention refers to a base station that establishes a new connection with the satellite after the feeder link is switched; correspondingly, the "source base station" referred to in the embodiment of the present invention refers to a base station that establishes a connection with the satellite before the feeder link is switched.

[0042] Specifically, the paging method may include the following steps:

[0043] Step S101: receiving a feeder link switching request sent by a source base station, wherein the feeder link switching request includes a paging request of at least one user equipment that is expected to be paged in a target cell;

[0044] Step S102: Send a paging message to the at least one user equipment according to the paging request.

[0045] It should be pointed out that the serial numbers of the steps in this embodiment do not limit the execution order of the steps.

[0046] The paging method of the embodiment of the present invention can be used in the process of feeder link soft switching, and can also be used in the process of feeder link hard switching.

[0047] In the embodiment of the present invention, the at least one user equipment expected to be paged in the target cell refers to at least one user equipment that is being paged or is to be paged within the coverage of the source base station.

[0048] In the specific implementation of step S101, when the source base station sends a feeder link switching request to the target base station, it carries the paging request of at least one user equipment that is expected to be paged in the target cell, so that the target base station can learn the user equipment that needs to be paged and its paging request at the same time as receiving the feeder link switching request.

[0049] In a specific embodiment, the feeder link switching request also includes information about a satellite connected to the source base station via a feeder link, and the feeder link switching request is used to request the target base station to establish a new feeder link with the satellite.

[0050] Those skilled in the art should understand that the feeder link switching request is used to request the target base station to establish a new feeder link with the satellite, and this embodiment expands the original function of the feeder link switching request to enable it to have the function of notifying paging requests.

[0051] Furthermore, in the specific implementation of step S102, the target base station may send a paging message to the at least one user equipment according to the paging request.

[0052] In a non-limiting embodiment, the paging request may include an identifier of a tracking area to which at least one user equipment belongs.

[0053] Accordingly, when sending paging, the target base station may send paging according to the identifier of the tracking area in the paging request, that is, send paging to the UE corresponding to the identifier of the tracking area in the paging request to ensure the comprehensiveness of the paging.

[0054] In a specific application scenario, the area where the feederlink switching occurs is located at the junction of multiple TAs, and the source cell and the target cell correspond to different TAs. The source cell corresponds to TAI1 and TAI2, and the target cell corresponds to TAI1. Before the feederlink switching occurs, the satellite is sending UE paging corresponding to TAI1 and TAI2. During the feederlink switching, the source base station notifies the target base station of the TAI (that is, TAI1 and TAI2) of the UE being paging. After the feederlink switching occurs, although the target cell only corresponds to TAI1, the target base station forwards the UE paging corresponding to TAI1 and TAI2 via satellite. UEs in TAI1 and TAI2 can all receive paging after the feederlink switching.

[0055] In a non-limiting embodiment, the paging requirement may further include an enhanced coverage parameter. The enhanced coverage parameter may indicate whether the UE requires enhanced coverage.

[0056] Correspondingly, when the target base station sends the paging message, if the enhanced coverage parameter in the paging requirement indicates that enhanced coverage is required, the number of times the paging message is sent for the at least one user equipment is increased.

[0057] In a specific implementation, the enhanced coverage parameter may be a Boolean type. If the value of the enhanced coverage parameter is "No", the base station sending the paging does not increase the number of paging transmissions. If the value of the enhanced coverage parameter is "Yes", the base station sending the paging needs to increase the number of paging transmissions. The specific increased number of paging transmissions may be determined by the source base station and notified to the target base station in advance, or may be determined and implemented by the target base station itself, or may be specified by the protocol, and the embodiment of the present invention does not limit this.

[0058] In another specific implementation, the enhanced coverage parameter may be a specific enhanced coverage target, specifically a preset target value. For example, the enhanced coverage parameter is the required enhanced coverage of XdB. After receiving the enhanced coverage parameter, the target base station determines the increased number of paging transmissions according to the enhanced coverage target value.

[0059] In another specific implementation, the enhanced coverage parameter may be a specific integer value, which is determined by the source base station for each UE being paged or to be paged, and the target base station is notified to perform paging for a corresponding number of times.

[0060] In another specific implementation, the enhanced coverage parameter may be an index value, and the source base station determines the index value for each UE being paged or to be paged, and notifies the target base station. The target base station determines the increased number of paging times according to the index value in a table lookup, and performs paging a corresponding number of times. The table recording the index value and its corresponding number of paging times may be pre-set.

[0061] In a non-limiting embodiment, the paging requirement may further include a paging priority of the at least one user equipment.

[0062] Accordingly, when the target base station sends a paging message, if the paging requirement includes the paging priority of the at least one user equipment, the paging message for the at least one user equipment is sent according to the paging priority. For example, when there are too many UEs to be paged, the target base station determines to send paging of UEs with higher priorities first according to the priorities.

[0063] In a non-limiting embodiment, the paging request may further include a wake-up signal parameter of the at least one user equipment.

[0064] Correspondingly, when the target base station sends a paging message, if the wake-up signal parameter in the paging request indicates that a wake-up signal is required, the target base station first sends a wake-up signal to the at least one user equipment, and then sends a paging message to the at least one user equipment.

[0065] In a non-limiting embodiment, the paging requirement may also include one or more of the following: an identification of the at least one user device; the ability of the at least one user device to receive paging in various types of communication networks; the paging source of the at least one user device; paging assistance information of the at least one user device; the discontinuous reception cycle of the at least one user device during narrowband Internet of Things paging; and enhanced coverage parameters of the at least one user device.

[0066] In a specific implementation, the paging source is selected from Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) triggering and Radio Access Network (RAN) triggering.

[0067] In a specific implementation, the paging assistance information is selected from the number of times the paging is expected to be sent, the cell where the paging is expected to be sent, and / or the coverage strength of the paging expected to be sent.

[0068] In a specific implementation, the identifier of the user equipment may be a 5G temporary mobile station identifier (TMSI), an AMF identifier (ID), an AMF pool identifier (pool ID), etc. The ability of the user equipment to receive paging in various types of communication networks may be whether the UE can receive paging from a New Radio (NR) network, or whether the UE can receive paging from a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network; whether the UE can receive paging from a Narrow Band-Internet of Things (NB-IoT), etc. The discontinuous reception period of the user equipment during NB-IoT paging may be how large a time window the UE can perform discontinuous reception (DRX).

[0069] It should be noted that, with the development of communication technology, the paging requirement of the user equipment may also be any other feasible content, and the embodiment of the present invention does not limit this.

[0070] In a non-limiting embodiment of the present invention, Figure 1The paging method shown may also include the following steps: sending the paging request of one or more user equipments among the at least one user equipment to the AMF so that the AMF updates the context of the core network.

[0071] In a specific implementation, when the target base station receives a paging request from the source base station, it can notify the AMF. Specifically, the paging request received by the target base station from the source base station can be in the form of a list, then the target base station can notify the AMF of the list, or notify the AMF of one or more UEs in the list. After receiving the notification, the AMF updates the UE context saved by the core network. If the UE receives a paging through the target base station, an RRC connection establishment request is initiated through the target base station. If the UE receives a paging through the source base station, an RRC connection establishment request is initiated through the target base station after waiting for the feederlink to switch. The other steps are the same as the prior art and will not be repeated here.

[0072] In a specific application scenario, please refer to Figure 2 , Figure 2 A specific flow chart of a paging method is shown.

[0073] Step S201: The source base station 203 sends a feeder link switching request to the target base station 204. The feeder link switching request includes a paging request of at least one user equipment that is expected to be paged in the target cell. Afterwards, the target base station 204 can establish a transport layer connection with the site 202 (i.e., the satellite).

[0074] Step S202: The target base station 204 sends a paging message to the UE 201. The target base station 204 sends a paging message corresponding to the UE over the air interface according to the UE identifier in the paging request. At the same time, the target base station 204 performs differentiated processing according to the paging request of each UE.

[0075] Step S203: UE201 performs random access with the target base station 204.

[0076] It should be noted that the process steps after random access can refer to the existing technology and will not be repeated here.

[0077] Please refer to Figure 3 The embodiment of the present invention further discloses another paging method for satellite communication. The paging method for satellite communication can be used on the source base station side, that is, the various steps of the method are executed by the source base station.

[0078] Specifically, the paging method may include the following steps:

[0079] Step S301: acquiring configuration information of a target cell and notifying a user equipment, wherein the configuration information includes an identifier of the target cell and / or a frequency of the target cell, so that the user equipment can perform cell measurement according to the configuration information.

[0080] In this embodiment, the configuration information of the target cell is notified to the user device before the feeder link switching request is sent. This means that if the user device knows the configuration information of the target cell in advance, the user device can start the measurement immediately after the reference signal arrives. Compared with the prior art in which the target base station establishes a transmission layer connection with the satellite, the target base station sends a reference signal to the user device via the satellite, and the source base station notifies the user device to measure the reference signal sent by the target base station before starting the measurement. The step of the source base station notifying the user device to measure the reference signal sent by the target base station requires a long transmission delay. The embodiment of the present invention can start the measurement in advance, thereby shortening the duration of the feeder link switching process and improving the switching efficiency.

[0081] In a specific implementation, the configuration information also includes a synchronization signal block (SSB) sequence and / or SSB configuration information of the target cell.

[0082] In a non-limiting embodiment, the source base station may obtain the configuration information of the target cell through a network management platform, a network management entity and / or a third-party configuration entity; or, obtain a configuration information list through a network management platform, a network management entity and / or a third-party configuration entity, and select the configuration information from the configuration information list, wherein the configuration information list includes multiple sets of configuration information.

[0083] Alternatively, the source base station acquires the target cell's cell identifier, frequency, SSB sequence, SSB basic configuration and other information in advance by interacting with the target base station. That is, the source base station interacts with the target base station to acquire the above configuration information before the feederlink switching.

[0084] In a specific implementation, the source base station may send the above configuration information to the UE through one or more forms of RRC signaling, a media access control (MAC) control unit, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) control unit, a radio link control (RLC) control unit, etc.

[0085] Furthermore, the source base station may also determine a delay time, and notify the user equipment of the configuration information together with the delay time, so that the user equipment performs cell measurement according to the configuration information after the delay time.

[0086] Specifically, the source base station can notify the UE of a timer value. After receiving the timer, the UE starts the timer according to the configured duration. After the timer times out, the UE starts measuring the reference signal of the target cell.

[0087] Step S302: Send a feeder link switching request to a target base station, the feeder link switching request including a paging request of at least one user equipment that is expected to be paged in the target cell, and the target base station sends a paging message for the at least one user equipment according to the paging request.

[0088] In an optional embodiment, the feeder link switching request may only include information about a satellite connected to the source base station via a feeder link, and the feeder link switching request is used to request the target base station to establish a new feeder link with the satellite. That is, the source base station first notifies the user equipment of the configuration information of the target cell, and then sends the feeder link switching request.

[0089] In specific application scenarios, please refer to Figure 4 , Figure 4 A specific process of a paging method is shown.

[0090] Step S401: the source base station 403 notifies the UE 401 of the configuration information of the target cell.

[0091] Step S402: The source base station 403 sends a feeder link switching request to the target base station 404. The request may include only the information of the satellite connected to the source base station 403 via the feeder link, or may include the information of the satellite connected to the source base station 403 via the feeder link and the paging request of at least one user equipment that is expected to be paged in the target cell. Afterwards, the target base station 404 establishes a transport layer connection with the site 402 (i.e., the satellite).

[0092] Step S403: The target base station 404 sends a connection confirmation to the source base station 403. If, in step S401, the source base station 403 obtains configuration information by interacting with the network management platform, the network management entity, the third-party configuration entity, or the target base station in advance, and the target cell does not modify the configuration information, step S404 can be omitted.

[0093] Step S404 : UE 401 performs random access with target base station 404 .

[0094] It should be noted that the serial numbers of the steps in this embodiment do not limit the execution order of the steps. For example, step S401 can be executed before step S402 or after step S402.

[0095] In the prior art, the source base station 403 notifies the UE 401 to perform the measurement after step S404, and the UE actually performs the measurement after the measurement notification. In the embodiment of the present invention, the source base station 403 notifies the UE 401 to perform the measurement in step S401, and the UE can actually perform the measurement after step S403. It can be seen that, compared with the prior art, the embodiment of the present invention advances the timing of the UE performing the measurement when the feeder link is switched, so that the timing of the switching completion is also advanced, shortening the switching process.

[0096] It should be noted that the target base station can only send a paging message after the UE measures the reference signal of the target cell and finds the target cell. In other words, if the source base station notifies the UE in advance to "measure the reference signal of the target cell" (i.e. Figure 4 If the source base station does not notify the UE in advance of "measurement of the reference signal of the target cell", the target cell must ensure that the paging is sent after the UE is notified of the measurement.

[0097] Please refer to Figure 5 The embodiment of the present invention further discloses a paging device 50 for satellite communication. The paging device 50 for satellite communication may include:

[0098] A feeder link switching request receiving module 501 is configured to receive a feeder link switching request sent by a source base station, wherein the feeder link switching request includes a paging request of at least one user equipment that the source base station expects to page in a target cell;

[0099] The paging sending module 502 is configured to send a paging message to the at least one user equipment according to the paging request.

[0100] In an embodiment of the present invention, when sending a feeder link switching request, the source base station can notify the target base station of the paging request of at least one user equipment that the source base station expects to page in the target cell, so that the target base station can perform paging according to the paging requirement notified by the source base station, thereby ensuring the consistency of paging before and after the feeder link switching, ensuring the smooth conduct of user equipment calls, and improving user experience.

[0101] In a non-limiting embodiment, a paging device for satellite communication is also disclosed, the paging device comprising: a feeder link switching request sending module, used to send a feeder link switching request to a target base station, the feeder link switching request including a paging request of at least one user equipment desired to be paged in the target cell, the target base station sending a paging message for the at least one user equipment according to the paging request.

[0102] In a non-limiting embodiment, another paging device for satellite communication is also disclosed. The paging device may include: a configuration information notification module, configured to obtain configuration information of a target cell and notify a user equipment, wherein the configuration information includes an identifier of the target cell and / or a frequency of the target cell, so that the user equipment can perform cell measurement according to the configuration information.

[0103] In an embodiment of the present invention, compared with the prior art in which the UE starts measurement after the target base station establishes a transmission layer connection with the satellite, the source base station in the technical solution of the present invention notifies the UE to perform measurement before the feeder link switching request, so that the UE can start the measurement immediately after the reference signal arrives, that is, the measurement can be started in advance, thereby shortening the duration of the feeder link switching process and improving the switching efficiency.

[0104] For more information on the working principle and working method of the above-mentioned paging device for satellite communication, please refer to Figures 1 to 4 The relevant description in will not be repeated here.

[0105] The paging device (virtual device) for satellite communication may be, for example, a chip or a chip module.

[0106] Regarding the various modules / units included in the various devices and products described in the above embodiments, they can be software modules / units, or hardware modules / units, or they can be partially software modules / units and partially hardware modules / units. For example, for various devices and products applied to or integrated in a chip, the various modules / units included therein can all be implemented in the form of hardware such as circuits, or at least some of the modules / units can be implemented in the form of software programs, which run on a processor integrated inside the chip, and the remaining (if any) modules / units can be implemented in the form of hardware such as circuits; for various devices and products applied to or integrated in a chip module, the various modules / units included therein can all be implemented in the form of hardware such as circuits, and different modules / units can be located in the same component (such as a chip, circuit module, etc.) or different components of the chip module, or at least some of the modules / units can be implemented in the form of hardware such as circuits. The element can be implemented in the form of a software program, which runs on a processor integrated inside the chip module, and the remaining (if any) modules / units can be implemented in the form of hardware such as circuits; for various devices and products applied to or integrated in the terminal, the various modules / units contained therein can be implemented in the form of hardware such as circuits, and different modules / units can be located in the same component (for example, chip, circuit module, etc.) or in different components in the terminal, or, at least some modules / units can be implemented in the form of a software program, which runs on a processor integrated inside the terminal, and the remaining (if any) modules / units can be implemented in the form of hardware such as circuits.

[0107] The embodiment of the present invention also discloses a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, which can execute Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 3 or Figure 4 The steps of the paging method shown in . The storage medium may include ROM, RAM, magnetic disk or optical disk, etc. The storage medium may also include non-volatile memory or non-transitory memory, etc.

[0108] The embodiment of the present invention further discloses a user equipment, which may include a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program that can be run on the processor. When the processor runs the computer program, it can execute Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 3 or Figure 4 The steps of the paging method shown in . The user equipment includes but is not limited to terminal equipment such as mobile phones, computers, and tablet computers.

[0109] The technical solution of the present invention is also applicable to different network architectures, including but not limited to relay network architecture, dual-link architecture, Vehicle-to-Everything (vehicle-to-anything communication) architecture and other architectures.

[0110] The core network described in the embodiments of the present application may be an evolved packet core network (EPC for short), a 5G Core Network (5G Core Network), or a new core network in a future communication system. The 5G Core Network is composed of a group of devices, and implements access and mobility management functions (AMF) that implement mobility management and other functions, user plane functions (UPF) that provide packet routing and forwarding and QoS (Quality of Service) management and other functions, and session management functions (SMF) that provide session management, IP address allocation and management and other functions. The EPC may be composed of an MME that provides mobility management, gateway selection and other functions, a Serving Gateway (S-GW) that provides packet forwarding and other functions, and a PDN Gateway (P-GW) that provides terminal address allocation, rate control and other functions.

[0111] The base station (BS) in the embodiment of the present application, which may also be referred to as a base station device, is a device deployed in a radio access network (RAN) to provide wireless communication functions. For example, the device that provides base station functions in a 2G network includes a base transceiver station (BTS), the device that provides base station functions in a 3G network includes a node B (NodeB), the device that provides base station functions in a 4G network includes an evolved node B (evolvedNodeB, eNB), and in wireless local area networks (WLANs), the device that provides base station functions is an access point (AP), and the device that provides base station functions in 5G New Radio (NR) is a gNB, and a node B (ng-eNB) that continues to evolve, wherein the gNB and the terminal use NR technology for communication, and the ng-eNB and the terminal use E-UTRA (Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access) technology for communication, and both the gNB and the ng-eNB can be connected to the 5G core network. The base station in the embodiment of the present application also includes a device that provides base station functions in a new communication system in the future.

[0112] The base station controller in the embodiment of the present application is a device for managing base stations, such as a base station controller (BSC) in a 2G network, a radio network controller (RNC) in a 3G network, and may also refer to a device for controlling and managing base stations in future new communication systems.

[0113] The network side network in the embodiment of the present invention refers to a communication network that provides communication services for a terminal, including a base station of a wireless access network, and may also include a base station controller of the wireless access network, and may also include equipment on the core network side.

[0114] The terminal in the embodiments of the present application may refer to various forms of user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station (MS), remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal equipment, wireless communication equipment, user agent or user device. The terminal equipment may also be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication function, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a terminal device in a future 5G network or a terminal device in a future evolved Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), etc., and the embodiments of the present application are not limited to this.

[0115] The embodiment of the present application defines the unidirectional communication link from the access network to the terminal as a downlink, the data transmitted on the downlink is downlink data, and the transmission direction of the downlink data is called the downlink direction; and the unidirectional communication link from the terminal to the access network is an uplink, the data transmitted on the uplink is uplink data, and the transmission direction of the uplink data is called the uplink direction.

[0116] It should be understood that the term "and / or" in this article is only a description of the association relationship of the associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. In addition, the character " / " in this article indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship.

[0117] The "plurality" appearing in the embodiments of the present application refers to two or more.

[0118] The first, second, etc. descriptions appearing in the embodiments of the present application are only used for illustration and distinction of the description objects. There is no order, nor do they indicate any special limitation on the number of devices in the embodiments of the present application, and cannot constitute any limitation on the embodiments of the present application.

[0119] The "connection" that appears in the embodiments of the present application refers to various connection methods such as direct connection or indirect connection to achieve communication between devices, and the embodiments of the present application do not impose any limitations on this.

[0120] It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the processor may be a central processing unit (CPU), and the processor may also be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may also be any conventional processor, etc.

[0121] It should also be understood that the memory in the embodiments of the present application may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example but not limitation, many forms of random access memory (RAM) are available, such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link DRAM (SLDRAM) and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM).

[0122] The above embodiments can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any other combination. When implemented using software, the above embodiments can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions or computer programs. When the computer instructions or computer programs are loaded or executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website site, computer, server or data center to another website site, computer, server or data center by wired or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that contains one or more available media sets. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, a tape), an optical medium (e.g., a DVD), or a semiconductor medium. The semiconductor medium can be a solid-state hard disk.

[0123] It should be understood that in the various embodiments of the present application, the size of the serial numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0124] In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed methods, devices and systems can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic; for example, the division of the units is only a logical function division, and there may be other division methods in actual implementation; for example, multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0125] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed on multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

[0126] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present invention may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may be physically included separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit. The above-mentioned integrated unit may be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of hardware plus software functional units.

[0127] The above-mentioned integrated unit implemented in the form of a software functional unit can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. The above-mentioned software functional unit is stored in a storage medium, including a number of instructions for a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to perform some steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present invention. The aforementioned storage medium includes: U disk, mobile hard disk, read-only memory (Read-Only Memory, referred to as ROM), random access memory (Random Access Memory, referred to as RAM), disk or optical disk and other media that can store program codes.

[0128] Although the present invention is disclosed as above, the present invention is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be subject to the scope defined by the claims.

Claims

1. A paging method for satellite communication, characterized in that: include: receiving a feeder link switching request, the feeder link switching request including a paging request of at least one user equipment that is desired to be paged in a target cell; Sending a paging message for the at least one user equipment according to the paging request; The sending device of the feeder link switching request is also used to obtain configuration information of the target cell and notify the user equipment, wherein the configuration information includes an identifier of the target cell and / or a frequency of the target cell, so that the user equipment can perform cell measurement according to the configuration information.

2. The paging method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The paging request includes one or more of the following: an identification of the at least one user equipment; an identifier of the tracking area to which the at least one user equipment belongs; a paging priority of the at least one user equipment; The at least one user equipment has the capability to receive paging in various types of communication networks; a paging source of the at least one user equipment; Paging assistance information of the at least one user equipment; The discontinuous reception period of the at least one user equipment during narrowband Internet of Things paging; enhanced coverage parameters of the at least one user equipment; The at least one user equipment wake-up signal parameter.

3. The paging method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The paging source is selected from AMF triggering and RAN triggering.

4. The paging method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The paging assistance information is selected from the number of times of expected paging transmission, the cell in which the paging transmission is expected, and / or the coverage strength of the expected paging transmission.

5. The paging method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The sending a paging message for the at least one user equipment according to the paging requirement includes: If the paging requirement includes the paging priority of the at least one user equipment, sending a paging message for the at least one user equipment according to the paging priority; and / or, if the enhanced coverage parameter in the paging request indicates that enhanced coverage is required, increasing the number of times the paging message is sent for the at least one user equipment; And / or, if the wake-up signal parameter in the paging request indicates that a wake-up signal is required, a wake-up signal is first sent to the at least one user equipment, and then a paging message is sent to the at least one user equipment.

6. The paging method according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also includes: The paging request of one or more user equipments in the at least one user equipment is sent to the AMF so that the AMF updates the context of the core network.

7. The paging method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The feeder link switching request also includes information about a satellite connected to the source base station via a feeder link, and the feeder link switching request is used to request the target base station to establish a new feeder link with the satellite.

8. A paging method for satellite communication, characterized in that: include: Acquire configuration information of a target cell and notify the user equipment, wherein the configuration information includes an identifier of the target cell and / or a frequency of the target cell, so that the user equipment performs cell measurement according to the configuration information; A feeder link switching request is sent, wherein the feeder link switching request includes a paging request of at least one user equipment that is expected to be paged in the target cell, so that the target base station sends a paging message for the at least one user equipment according to the paging request.

9. The paging method according to claim 8, characterized in that: The configuration information also includes the SSB sequence and / or SSB configuration information of the target cell.

10. The paging method according to claim 8, characterized in that: The acquiring of the configuration information of the target cell includes: Acquire the configuration information of the target cell through a network management platform, a network management entity and / or a third-party configuration entity; Alternatively, a configuration information list is obtained through a network management platform, a network management entity and / or a third-party configuration entity, and the configuration information is selected from the configuration information list, wherein the configuration information list includes multiple sets of configuration information.

11. The paging method according to claim 8, characterized in that: Also includes: Determine a delay time, and notify the user equipment together with the configuration information, so that the user equipment performs cell measurement according to the configuration information after the delay time.

12. The paging method according to claim 11, characterized in that: The delay duration is the minimum, maximum or average value of the satellite air interface transmission delay corresponding to the target cell.

13. A paging device for satellite communication, characterized in that: include: A feeder link switching request receiving module, configured to receive a feeder link switching request, wherein the feeder link switching request includes a paging request of at least one user equipment that is expected to be paged in a target cell; A paging sending module, configured to send a paging message for the at least one user equipment according to the paging request; The sending device of the feeder link switching request is also used to obtain configuration information of the target cell and notify the user equipment, wherein the configuration information includes an identifier of the target cell and / or a frequency of the target cell, so that the user equipment can perform cell measurement according to the configuration information.

14. A paging device for satellite communication, characterized in that: include: A configuration information notification module, used to obtain configuration information of a target cell and notify a user equipment, wherein the configuration information includes an identifier of the target cell and / or a frequency of the target cell, so that the user equipment can perform cell measurement according to the configuration information; The feeder link switching request sending module is used to send a feeder link switching request, wherein the feeder link switching request includes a paging request of at least one user equipment that is expected to be paged in the target cell, so that the target base station sends a paging message for the at least one user equipment according to the paging request.

15. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that: When the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the paging method for satellite communication according to any one of claims 1 to 12 are performed.

16. A base station, comprising a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program that can be run on the processor, characterized in that: When the processor runs the computer program, the processor performs the steps of the paging method for satellite communication according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

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