Satellite communication method and device, chip and module equipment

By transmitting the availability information of the feed link in the satellite communication system, the terminal device can sense the status of the link, avoid unnecessary connection requests, solve the problem of increased power consumption caused by failure, and achieve more efficient resource management.

CN119449119APending Publication Date: 2025-02-14SPREADTRUM COMMUNICATION (SHANGHAI) CO LTD
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Patent Information

Application Number
CN202310922041.5
Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Applications(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2023-07-25
Publication Date
2025-02-14

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

In satellite communication systems, when the feed link fails, the terminal device cannot perceive the failure, resulting in constant requests for connections to obtain network services, thereby increasing power consumption.

Method used

By transmitting the availability information of the feed link between the terminal device and the network device, the terminal device can sense the available status of the feed link, thereby avoiding requesting connections when the link is unavailable, releasing wireless resources to control the RRC connection, saving power Consumption.

Benefits of technology

It effectively avoids unnecessary overhead of terminal equipment when the feed link is unavailable, reduces power consumption, and improves system reliability and efficiency.

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Abstract

The invention discloses a satellite communication method and device, a chip and module equipment, and the method comprises the steps that terminal equipment receives availability information of a feed link from network equipment, and the availability information of the feed link is used for indicating whether the feed link is available or not; and releasing radio resource control (RRC) connection under the condition that the availability information of the feed link indicates that the feed link is unavailable. Based on the method described by the invention, the power consumption of the terminal equipment can be saved under the condition that the feed link fails.
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Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communications, and in particular to a satellite communication method, device, chip and module equipment. Background Art

[0002] In satellite communication systems, there are connection links between satellites and terminal equipment (also called service links) and links between satellites and ground gateways (also called feeder links). The service link is based on the air interface Uu protocol for data / signaling transmission, and the feeder link is used to complete the data / signaling transmission between the core network equipment and the base station (or satellite) through the NG interface.

[0003] When the feeder link fails, for example, due to a ground gateway failure or software upgrade, the terminal device suddenly cannot obtain network services or connect to the network. On the terminal device side, the terminal device cannot perceive the failure of the feeder link and will continuously request to establish a connection to obtain network services, resulting in increased power consumption. Summary of the invention

[0004] The embodiments of the present application provide a satellite communication method, apparatus, chip and module device. The method provided by the present application is helpful in saving the power consumption of the terminal device in the event of a feeder link failure.

[0005] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a satellite communication method, the method comprising: a terminal device receives availability information of a feeder link from a network device, the availability information of the feeder link being used to indicate whether the feeder link is available.

[0006] Based on the method provided in the first aspect, the terminal device can perceive whether the feeder link is available based on the availability information of the feeder link, thereby avoiding requesting a connection to obtain network services when the feeder link is unavailable. The terminal device can avoid unnecessary overhead, which is conducive to saving power consumption of the terminal device.

[0007] In one possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes available status information of the feeder link, and / or available time information of the feeder link; wherein the available status information includes an available status or an unavailable status, and the available time information includes a first time period in an available status and / or a second time period in an unavailable status.

[0008] In a possible implementation, when the availability information of the feeder link indicates that the feeder link is unavailable, the terminal device releases the radio resource control RRC connection. By implementing this possible implementation, when the feeder link is unavailable, the terminal device in the connected state can perceive that the feeder link is unavailable based on the received availability information of the feeder link, and release the RRC connection; compared to the method in which when the feeder link is unavailable, the terminal device continuously requests to establish a connection to obtain network services because it cannot perceive that the feeder link has failed, the terminal device can avoid unnecessary overhead, which is conducive to saving power consumption of the terminal device.

[0009] In one possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period; further, within a first time before the end of the first time period, the terminal device can receive release indication information from the network device and release the RRC connection according to the release indication information.

[0010] In one possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a second time period; further, within a second time before the start time of the second time period, the terminal device can receive release indication information from the network device and release the RRC connection according to the release indication information.

[0011] In one possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period. Furthermore, within a first time before the end of the first time period, the terminal device sends a request message to the network device, where the request message is used to request the release of the RRC connection; the terminal device receives release indication information from the network device, and releases the RRC connection according to the release indication information.

[0012] In one possible embodiment, the availability information of the feeder link includes a second time period. Further, within a second time before the start time of the second time period, the terminal device sends a request message to the network device, and the request message is used to request the release of the RRC connection; the terminal device receives the release indication information from the network device, and releases the RRC connection according to the release indication information.

[0013] In one possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period. Further, the terminal device may send a RRC connection restoration request message to the network device in the first time period; the terminal device receives an RRC restoration confirmation message from the network device and restores the RRC connection based on the RRC restoration confirmation message.

[0014] In a possible implementation manner, the availability information of the feeder link is carried in broadcast information, or the availability information of the feeder link is carried in dedicated signaling.

[0015] In one possible implementation, a random access request is sent to the network device when the feeder link is available. By implementing this possible implementation, the terminal device in the idle state can sense whether the feeder link is available or unavailable based on the received available information of the feeder link, so that the terminal device can send a random access request to the network device only when the feeder link is available; compared with the method in which the terminal device cannot sense that the feeder link has failed and continuously sends random access requests to request to establish a connection to obtain network services when the feeder link fails, the terminal device can avoid unnecessary overhead, which is conducive to saving power consumption of the terminal device.

[0016] In a possible implementation manner, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period, and the terminal device may send a random access request to the network device when in the first time period.

[0017] In a possible implementation manner, the availability information of the feeder link includes a second time period, and the terminal device may send a random access request to the network device when it is not in the second time period.

[0018] In a possible implementation manner, the availability information of the feeder link is carried in the broadcast information.

[0019] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a satellite communication method, the method comprising: a network device sends availability information of a feeder link to a terminal device, the availability information of the feeder link being used to indicate whether the feeder link is available.

[0020] For the beneficial effects obtained by the method provided in the second aspect, reference may be made to the beneficial effects of the method provided in the first aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0021] In one possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes available status information of the feeder link, and / or available time information of the feeder link; wherein the available status information includes an available status or an unavailable status, and the available time information includes a first time period in an available status and / or a second time period in an unavailable status.

[0022] In one possible implementation, the terminal device is in a connected state, and the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period. In this case, within a first time before the end of the first time period, the network device sends a release indication message to the terminal device, and the release indication message is used to indicate the release of the radio resource control RRC connection.

[0023] In one possible implementation, the terminal device is in a connected state, and the availability information of the feeder link includes a second time period. In this case, within a second time before the start time of the second time period, the network device sends a release indication message to the terminal device, and the release indication message is used to indicate the release of the wireless resource control RRC connection.

[0024] In one possible implementation, the terminal device is in a connected state, and the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period. In this case, within a first time before the end of the first time period, the network device receives a request message from the terminal device, and the request message is used to request the release of the RRC connection; the network device sends a release indication message to the terminal device, and the release indication information is used to indicate the release of the RRC connection.

[0025] In one possible implementation, the terminal device is in a connected state, and the availability information of the feeder link includes a second time period. In this case, within a second time before the start time of the second time period, the network device receives a request message from the terminal device, and the request message is used to request the release of the RRC connection; the network device sends release indication information to the terminal device, and the release indication information is used to indicate the release of the RRC connection.

[0026] In a possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period, during which the network device receives a restore RRC connection request message from the terminal device; and the network device sends an RRC restore confirmation message to the terminal device.

[0027] In a possible implementation manner, the terminal device is in an idle state, and the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period. In this case, in the first time period, the network device receives a random access request from the terminal device.

[0028] In a possible implementation manner, the terminal device is in an idle state, and the availability information of the feeder link includes a second time period. In this case, when the terminal device is not in the second time period, the network device receives a random access request from the terminal device.

[0029] In a possible implementation manner, the availability information of the feeder link is carried in broadcast information, or the availability information of the feeder link is carried in dedicated signaling.

[0030] In a third aspect, the present application provides a satellite communication device, which includes a unit for executing the method described in the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0031] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a chip, comprising a processor and a communication interface, wherein the processor is configured to enable the chip to execute the method described in the first aspect or the second aspect above.

[0032] In the fifth aspect, the present application provides a module device, which includes a communication module, a power module, a storage module and a chip, wherein: the power module is used to provide power to the module device; the storage module is used to store data and instructions; the communication module is used for internal communication of the module device, or for the module device to communicate with external devices; the chip is used to execute the method described in the first aspect or the second aspect above.

[0033] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores computer-readable instructions. When the computer-readable instructions are executed on a communication device, the communication device executes the method described in the first or second aspect above.

[0034] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a computer program or a computer program product, comprising codes or instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enable the computer to execute the method described in the first or second aspect above.

[0035] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a satellite communication device, comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the processor and the memory are interconnected, wherein the memory is used to store a computer program, the computer program comprises program instructions, and the processor is configured to call the program instructions to execute the method described in the first or second aspect above. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0036] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0037] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a satellite system with a regenerative architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0038] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a feeder link and a service link provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0039] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a flow chart of a satellite communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0040] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the structure of a satellite communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0041] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the structure of a satellite communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0042] The embodiments of the present application provide a satellite communication method, apparatus, chip and module equipment. In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the present application clearer, the present application will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0043] The terms "first" and "second" and the like in the specification, claims and drawings of this application are used to distinguish different objects, rather than to describe a specific order. In addition, the terms "including" and "having" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product or device that includes a series of operations or units is not limited to the listed operations or units, but may optionally include operations or units that are not listed, or may optionally include other operations or units that are inherent to these processes, methods, products or devices.

[0044] Reference to "embodiments" herein means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in conjunction with the embodiments may be included in at least one embodiment of the present application. The appearance of the phrase in various locations in the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor is it an independent or alternative embodiment that is mutually exclusive with other embodiments. It is explicitly and implicitly understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein may be combined with other embodiments.

[0045] In the present application, "at least one (item)" means one or more, "more than one" means two or more, "at least two (items)" means two or three and more than three, and "and / or" is used to describe the corresponding relationship of corresponding objects, indicating that there may be three relationships. For example, "A and / or B" can mean: only A exists, only B exists, and A and B exist at the same time, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the corresponding objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following items" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single items or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b or c can mean: a, b, c, "a and b", "a and c", "b and c", or "a and b and c", where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

[0046] In order to better understand the embodiment of the present application, the system architecture of the embodiment of the present application is first described below:

[0047] The method provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, for example, an Internet of Things (IoT) system, a narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) system, a long term evolution (LTE) system, a non-terrestrial network (NTN) system, a fifth-generation (5G) communication system, an LTE and 5G hybrid architecture, a 5G new radio (NR) system, and new communication systems that will emerge in future communication developments. Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application, and the solution in the present application can be applied to the communication system. The communication system may include a network device and a terminal device. Figure 1 The number of network devices and terminal devices is only for illustration and cannot be regarded as a specific limitation of the present application. Figure 1 The network devices and terminal devices shown are described below.

[0048] 1. Terminal equipment

[0049] Terminal equipment can be a device with transceiver functions, and can also be called terminal, user equipment (UE), remote terminal equipment (remote UE), relay equipment (relay UE), access terminal equipment, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, mobile device, user terminal equipment, intelligent terminal equipment, wireless communication equipment, user agent or user device. It should be noted that relay equipment is a terminal equipment that can provide relay forwarding services for other terminal equipment (including remote terminal equipment).

[0050] For example, the terminal device may be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal device in industrial control, a wireless terminal device in unmanned autonomous driving, a wireless terminal device in remote medical, a wireless terminal device in a smart grid, a wireless terminal device in transportation safety, a wireless terminal device in a smart city, or a wireless terminal device in a smart home, etc.

[0051] For another example, the terminal device 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 next-generation communication system (such as an NR communication system, a 6G communication system), or a terminal device in a future evolved public land mobile communication network (PLMN), etc., without specific limitation.

[0052] In some possible implementations, the terminal device can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld, wearable or vehicle-mounted; can be deployed on the water surface (such as ships, etc.); can be deployed in the air (such as airplanes, balloons and satellites, etc.).

[0053] In some possible implementations, the terminal device may include a device with wireless communication functions, such as a chip system, a chip, or a chip module. For example, the chip system may include a chip and may also include other discrete devices.

[0054] In some possible implementations, the terminal device described in the embodiments of the present application may be a chip, a chip module, a device, a unit, etc., without specific limitation.

[0055] 2. Network equipment

[0056] In the embodiment of the present application, the network device is a device that provides wireless communication functions for the terminal device, and can also be referred to as a radio access network (RAN) device, an access network device or an access network element. Among them, the network device can support at least one wireless communication technology, such as LTE, NR, etc. For example, the network device includes but is not limited to: the next generation base station (generation nodeB, gNB) in 5G, evolved node B (evolved node B, eNB), radio network controller (radio network controller, RNC), node B (node ​​B, NB), base station controller (base station controller, BSC), base transceiver station (base transceiver station, BTS), home base station (for example, home evolved node B, or home node B, HNB), baseband unit (baseband unit, BBU), TRP, transmitting point (transmitting point, TP), mobile switching center, etc. The network device can also be a non-terrestrial network device (such as a satellite) or access network device in NTN. The network device may also be a wireless controller, a centralized unit (CU), and / or a distributed unit (DU) in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario, or the access network device may be a relay station, an access point, a vehicle-mounted device, a terminal device, a wearable device, and an access network device in future mobile communications or an access network device in a future evolved PLMN. In some embodiments, the network device may also be a device having a wireless communication function for a terminal device, such as a chip system. For example, the chip system may include a chip and may also include other discrete devices.

[0057] In some embodiments, the network device may also communicate with an Internet Protocol (IP) network, such as the Internet, a private IP network, or other data networks.

[0058] It should be noted that the interface between the terminal device and the network device is an air interface (referred to as air interface), and a terminal device can be connected to one or more network devices. A network device can link multiple terminal devices and manage them. There is an interface between network devices, which can be an X2 port (4G system), an Xn interface (5G system) and other types of interfaces. There is an interface between terminal devices, which can be a PC5, Wireless Fidelity (Wireless Fidelity, WIFI) and other types of interfaces.

[0059] In order to facilitate the understanding of the technical solutions in this application, some technical terms involved in this application are explained below. It should be noted that these explanations are intended to make the embodiments of this application easier to understand and should not be regarded as limiting the scope of protection claimed by this application.

[0060] 1. NTN

[0061] NTN provides seamless communication coverage for terminal devices by deploying base stations or part of base station functions on non-terrestrial network devices (such as satellites) to improve the reliability of the communication system. It should be noted that, for ease of understanding, the following text only uses the non-terrestrial network device in NTN as a satellite as an example, which should not be regarded as a specific limitation of this application.

[0062] In the NTN system, satellite communication architecture can be divided into two categories according to the role of satellite in the system: 1. Transparent forwarding architecture; in this architecture, the satellite assumes the function of relay or amplifier in the system, used for RF filtering or amplification, etc., for regenerating signals. 2. Regenerative architecture; in this architecture, the satellite carries all or part of the functions of the base station in the system (such as the function of DU). The satellite under this architecture can be regarded as a base station, DU, integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, etc., for signal processing. Figure 2 As shown, it is a schematic diagram of a satellite system with a regenerative architecture provided by the present application. Figure 2 The base station (or network equipment) is deployed on a satellite, which carries all the functions of the base station.

[0063] 2. Feeder link and service link

[0064] In the NTN system, the link between the satellite and the terminal equipment is usually called the service link, and the link between the satellite and the NTN gateway is called the feeder link. The service link is based on the air interface Uu protocol for data / signaling transmission, and the feeder link is to complete the data / signaling transmission between the core network equipment and the base station (or satellite) through the NG interface. Figure 3 , Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a feeder link and a service link provided for this application.

[0065] In the NTN system, how to enable the terminal device to sense the state of the feeder link to avoid unnecessary power consumption of the terminal device is an urgent problem to be solved. In order to solve this problem, the present application provides a satellite communication method, device, chip and module device. It should be noted that in order to facilitate the description and understanding of the solution of the embodiment of the present application, the present application is only described in the following text with the NTN communication system in which the base station is deployed on the satellite as an example, which should not be regarded as a specific limitation of the present application; when the base station is not deployed or not fully deployed on the satellite, the "network device" in the following text can also be replaced by "satellite".

[0066] The satellite communication method, device, chip and module device provided in the embodiments of the present application are further described in detail below. Figure 4 , Figure 4 It is a flowchart of a satellite communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 4 The execution subject of the method shown may be a terminal device or a chip in the terminal device; or, the execution subject may also be a network device or a chip in the network device. Figure 4 The following description is made by taking the terminal device and the network device as the execution subjects of the method. Figure 4 As shown, the satellite communication method includes the following steps.

[0067] S401. A terminal device receives availability information of a feeder link from a network device.

[0068] Accordingly, the network device sends the availability information of the feeder link to the terminal device. The availability information of the feeder link includes the availability status information of the feeder link and / or the availability time information of the feeder link. It can be understood that the availability status information of the feeder link is used to indicate whether the feeder link is available, and the availability status information includes an available state or an unavailable state; the availability time information of the feeder link is used to indicate when the feeder link is in an available state or when it is in an unavailable state, and the availability time information includes a first time period when the feeder link is in an available state and / or a second time period when the feeder link is in an unavailable state.

[0069] In a possible implementation, the network device generates the availability information of the feeder link based on the perception result (or understood as the detection result) of the feeder link. Several examples of generating the availability information of the feeder link are provided below to help understand the solution of the present application. It should be noted that the examples provided in the present application are only for ease of understanding and should not be regarded as a specific limitation of the present application.

[0070] In Example 1, the network device detects a sudden failure of the feeder link (or understands that the feeder link is unavailable), and further, the network device generates availability information of the feeder link, and the availability information of the feeder link indicates that the feeder link is in an unavailable state.

[0071] In Example 2, the network device detects that the feeder link is restored (or understands that the feeder link is available), and further, the network device generates availability information of the feeder link, where the availability information of the feeder link indicates that the feeder link is in an available state.

[0072] In Example 3, the network device detects a sudden failure of the feeder link at a first moment and determines that the fault elimination time is approximately 1 hour. Further, the network device generates availability information of the feeder link, and the availability information of the feeder link indicates that the feeder link is unavailable within 1 hour from the first moment (that is, the second time period is a time period starting from the first moment and lasting for 1 hour).

[0073] In Example 4, the network device learns at the second moment that the NTN gateway will perform a system upgrade at the third moment. Further, the network device generates availability information of the feeder link, and the availability information of the feeder link indicates that the feeder link is available from the second moment to the third moment (that is, the first time period is the time period between the second moment and the third moment).

[0074] In Example 5, the network device learns at the fourth moment that the NTN gateway will perform a system upgrade at the fifth moment, and the system upgrade takes 2 hours. Further, the network device generates availability information of the feeder link, and the availability information of the feeder link indicates that the feeder link is unavailable within 2 hours from the fifth moment (i.e., the second time period is a time period starting from the fifth moment and lasting for 2 hours). The availability information of the feeder link may also indicate that the feeder link is available from the sixth moment (i.e., the moment 2 hours after the fifth moment) (i.e., the first time period is a time period starting from the sixth moment).

[0075] In a possible implementation of S401, a terminal device in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connected state and a terminal device in an RRC idle state receive the availability information of the feeder link from the network device in the same manner; for example, the network device sends the availability information of the feeder link to each terminal device by broadcasting, that is, it can be understood that the availability information of the feeder link is carried in the broadcast information, or it can be understood that the availability information of the feeder link is carried in the broadcast channel.

[0076] In another possible implementation of S401, a terminal device in an RRC connected state and a terminal device in an RRC idle state receive feeder link availability information from a network device in different ways; for example, the network device sends feeder link availability information to a terminal device in an RRC idle state by broadcasting, and sends feeder link availability information to a terminal device in an RRC connected state by proprietary signaling. The proprietary signaling includes but is not limited to RRC signaling, downlink control information (Downlink Control Information, DCI), or media access control (Media Access Control, MAC) control element (Control Element, CE), etc.

[0077] The following describes the processing of the terminal device after receiving the availability information of the feeder link according to the status of the terminal device, divided into the following two cases.

[0078] Case 1: The terminal device is in RRC connected state

[0079] After receiving the availability information of the feeder link, the terminal device in the RRC connected state releases the RRC connection when the availability information of the feeder link indicates that the feeder link is unavailable. The situation where the availability information of the feeder link indicates that the feeder link is unavailable includes: indicating that the availability status information of the feeder link is unavailable, indicating a first time period, or indicating a second time period.

[0080] In one example, the availability information of the feeder link indicates that the current feeder link is unavailable. In this case, the terminal device in the RRC connected state sends a request message to the network device for requesting the release of the RRC connection, and the network device sends a release indication message to the terminal device after receiving the request message; the terminal device releases the RRC connection according to the release indication message. Alternatively, the network device sends a release indication message to the terminal device in the RRC connected state; wherein the release indication information may be carried in the same proprietary signaling as the availability information of the feeder link, or may be carried in a different proprietary signaling, which is not limited in the present application; after receiving the release indication information, the terminal device releases the RRC connection according to the release indication information.

[0081] In another example, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period. In this case, the terminal device in the RRC connected state can send a request message for requesting the release of the RRC connection to the network device at the end of the first time period or before the end of the first time period (for example, within the first time before the end of the first time period), and the network device sends a release indication message to the terminal device after receiving the request message; the terminal device releases the RRC connection according to the release indication message. Alternatively, at the end of the first time period or before the end of the first time period (for example, within the first time before the end of the first time), the network device sends a release indication message to the terminal device in the RRC connected state; after receiving the release indication message, the terminal device releases the RRC connection according to the release indication message. Among them, the length of the first time and the length of the second time mentioned later can be adjusted according to the specific application scenario, and this application does not specifically limit this.

[0082] In another example, the availability information of the feeder link includes a second time period. In this case, the terminal device in the RRC connected state can send a request message for requesting the release of the RRC connection to the network device at the beginning of the second time period or before the beginning of the second time period (for example, within a second time before the start time of the second time period), and the network device sends a release indication message to the terminal device after receiving the request message; the terminal device releases the RRC connection according to the release indication message. Alternatively, at the beginning of the second time period or before the beginning of the second time period (for example, within a second time before the start time of the second time period), the network device sends a release indication message to the terminal device in the RRC connected state; after receiving the release indication message, the terminal device releases the RRC connection according to the release indication message.

[0083] In another example, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period and a second time period. The terminal device in the RRC connected state can send a request message for requesting the release of the RRC connection to the network device within a first time before the end time of the first time period or within a second time between the start time of the second time period, receive release indication information from the network device, and release the RRC connection. Alternatively, the terminal device receives release indication information sent by the network device within a first time before the end time of the first time period or within a second time between the start time of the second time period, and the terminal device releases the RRC connection according to the release indication information.

[0084] In a possible implementation, after a terminal device in an RRC connected state releases the RRC connection, if the availability information of the feeder link includes the first time period (in this case, the first time period is the time period in which the feeder link is in an available state after the RRC connection is released), the terminal device sends a RRC connection restoration request message to the network device within the first time period; further, the terminal device receives an RRC restoration confirmation message from the network device, and restores the RRC connection according to the RRC restoration confirmation message.

[0085] The RRC connection restoration request message may also carry a restoration identifier (also known as a resume ID), which is used to quickly restore the RRC connection between the terminal device and the network device. In a possible implementation, the terminal device obtains the resume ID from the network device, that is, the terminal device receives the resume ID from the network device; wherein, the resume ID may be carried in the aforementioned release indication information or obtained from the network device during the process of establishing an RRC connection between the terminal device and the network device, and this application does not limit this.

[0086] It should be understood that after a terminal device in an RRC connected state releases the RRC connection, if the network device side also releases the context information of the terminal device, the terminal device is in an RRC idle state. Subsequently, when the availability information of the feeder link indicates that the feeder link is available, the terminal device establishes an RRC connection by sending a random access request to the network device. After a terminal device in an RRC connected state releases the RRC connection, if the network device side does not release the context information of the terminal device, the RRC connection can be regarded as being in a suspended state, that is, the terminal device is in an RRC inactive state. Subsequently, when the availability information of the feeder link indicates that the feeder link is available, the terminal device restores the RRC connection by sending a restore RRC connection request message to the network device.

[0087] Case 2: The terminal device is in RRC idle state

[0088] After receiving the availability information of the feeder link, the terminal device in the RRC idle state initiates random access to the network device (i.e., sends a random access request to the network device) when the availability information of the feeder link indicates that the feeder link is available. The situation where the availability information of the feeder link indicates that the feeder link is available includes: indicating that the availability status information of the feeder link is an available state, indicating a first time period, or indicating a second time period. One or more of the time period.

[0089] In one example, the availability information of the feeder link indicates that the current feeder link is in an available state. In this case, the terminal device in the RRC idle state sends a random access request to the network device.

[0090] In another example, the availability information of the feeder link indicates a first time period. In this case, the terminal device in the RRC idle state may send a random access request to the network device at the beginning of the first time period or at any time within the first time period.

[0091] In another example, the availability information of the feeder link indicates a second time period. In this case, the terminal device in the RRC idle state can send a random access request to the network device at the end of the second time period or at any time other than the second time period (i.e., not in the second time period).

[0092] In another example, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period and a second time period. The terminal device in the RRC idle state can send a random access request to the network device when it is in the first time period (i.e., at any time within the first time period) or at any time when it is not in the second time period.

[0093] By implementing Figure 4 In the satellite communication method shown, the terminal device can sense whether the feeder link is available based on the availability information of the feeder link indicated by the network device, thereby avoiding the situation where the terminal device blindly requests to establish a connection to obtain network services when the feeder link is unavailable, avoiding unnecessary overhead, and helping to save power consumption of the terminal device.

[0094] See also Figure 5 , Figure 5 It is a structural diagram of a satellite communication device provided in an embodiment of the present invention. In one embodiment, the satellite communication device is configured in a terminal device, and the device includes: an acquisition unit 501, a processing unit 502 and a sending unit 503; wherein the acquisition unit 501 is used to receive availability information of a feeder link from a network device, and the availability information of the feeder link is used to indicate whether the feeder link is available.

[0095] In one possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes available status information of the feeder link and / or available time information of the feeder link; wherein the available status information includes an available status or an unavailable status, and the available time information includes a first time period in an available status and / or a second time period in an unavailable status.

[0096] In a possible implementation, when the availability information of the feeder link indicates that the feeder link is unavailable, the processing unit 502 is configured to release the radio resource control RRC connection.

[0097] In one possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period. Within a first time before the end of the first time period, the acquisition unit 501 is used to receive release indication information from the network device; the processing unit 502 is used to release the RRC connection according to the release indication information.

[0098] In one possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a second time period. Within a second time period before the start time of the second time period, the acquisition unit 501 is used to receive release indication information from the network device; the processing unit 502 is used to release the RRC connection according to the release indication information.

[0099] In one possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period, and a sending unit 503 is used to send a request message to the network device within a first time before the end time of the first time period, and the request message is used to request the release of the RRC connection; the acquisition unit 501 is also used to receive release indication information from the network device; the processing unit 502 is used to release the RRC connection according to the release indication information.

[0100] In one possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a second time period, and the sending unit 503 is used to send a request message to the network device within a second time before the start time of the second time period, and the request message is used to request the release of the RRC connection; the acquisition unit 501 is also used to receive release indication information from the network device; the processing unit 502 is used to release the RRC connection according to the release indication information.

[0101] In one possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period, a sending unit 503, which is used to send a restore RRC connection request message to the network device in the first time period; an acquisition unit 501, which is also used to receive an RRC restoration confirmation message from the network device; and a processing unit 502, which is used to restore the RRC connection according to the RRC restoration confirmation message.

[0102] In a possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link is carried in broadcast information, or the availability information of the feeder link is carried in proprietary signaling.

[0103] In a possible implementation, the sending unit 503 is further configured to send a random access request to the network device when the feeder link is available.

[0104] In a possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period, and the sending unit 503 is further configured to send a random access request to the network device when the time period is in the first time period.

[0105] In a possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes the second time period, and the sending unit 503 is further configured to send a random access request to the network device when the second time period is not in place.

[0106] In a possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link is carried in the broadcast information.

[0107] In this embodiment, the functions of each unit module of the satellite communication device described can be based on Figure 4 The method in the method embodiment of the terminal device side is specifically implemented, and its specific implementation process can refer to Figure 4 The relevant description of the method embodiment will not be repeated here.

[0108] In another embodiment, the satellite communication device is configured in a network device, and the device includes: an acquisition unit 501, a processing unit 502 and a sending unit 503; wherein the sending unit 503 is used to send the availability information of the feeder link to the terminal device, and is used to generate the availability information of the feeder link, and the availability information of the feeder link is used to indicate whether the feeder link is available.

[0109] In one possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes available status information of the feeder link and / or available time information of the feeder link; wherein the available status information includes an available status or an unavailable status, and the available time information includes a first time period in an available status and / or a second time period in an unavailable status.

[0110] In one possible implementation, the terminal device is in a connected state, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period, and the sending unit 503 is further used to send release indication information to the terminal device within a first time before the end time of the first time period, and the release indication information is used to indicate the release of the wireless resource control RRC connection.

[0111] In one possible implementation, the terminal device is in a connected state, the availability information of the feeder link includes a second time period, and the sending unit 503 is further used to send release indication information to the terminal device within a second time before the start time of the second time period, and the release indication information is used to indicate the release of the wireless resource control RRC connection.

[0112] In one possible implementation, the terminal device is in a connected state, and the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period. The acquisition unit 501 is used to receive a request message from the terminal device within a first time before the end time of the first time period, and the request message is used to request the release of the RRC connection; the sending unit 503 is also used to send release indication information to the terminal device, and the release indication information is used to indicate the release of the RRC connection.

[0113] In one possible implementation, the terminal device is in a connected state, and the availability information of the feeder link includes a second time period. The acquisition unit 501 is used to receive a request message from the terminal device within a second time before the start time of the second time period, and the request message is used to request the release of the RRC connection; the sending unit 503 is also used to send release indication information to the terminal device, and the release indication information is used to indicate the release of the RRC connection.

[0114] In one possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period, and the acquisition unit 501 is further used to receive a recovery RRC connection request message from the terminal device when in the first time period; the sending unit 503 is further used to send an RRC recovery confirmation message to the terminal device.

[0115] In a possible implementation, the terminal device is in an idle state, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period, and the acquisition unit 501 is further configured to receive a random access request from the terminal device when the terminal device is in the first time period.

[0116] In a possible implementation, the terminal device is in an idle state, the availability information of the feeder link includes a second time period, and the acquisition unit 501 is further configured to receive a random access request from the terminal device when the terminal device is not in the second time period.

[0117] In a possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link is carried in broadcast information, or the availability information of the feeder link is carried in proprietary signaling.

[0118] In this embodiment, the functions of each unit module of the satellite communication device described can be based on Figure 4 The network device side method is specifically implemented in the method embodiment of the network device side method. The specific implementation process can refer to Figure 4 The relevant description of the method embodiment will not be repeated here.

[0119] The embodiment of the present application also provides a chip, which can execute the relevant steps of the terminal device in the aforementioned method embodiment.

[0120] In one embodiment: the chip is used to receive availability information of a feeder link from a network device, where the availability information of the feeder link is used to indicate whether the feeder link is available.

[0121] In one possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes available status information of the feeder link and / or available time information of the feeder link; wherein the available status information includes an available status or an unavailable status, and the available time information includes a first time period in an available status and / or a second time period in an unavailable status.

[0122] In a possible implementation, when the availability information of the feeder link indicates that the feeder link is unavailable, the chip is further configured to release a radio resource control RRC connection.

[0123] In a possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period. Within a first time before the end of the first time period, the chip is further used to receive release indication information from a network device; and release the RRC connection according to the release indication information.

[0124] In a possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a second time period. Within a second time period before the start time of the second time period, the chip is further used to receive release indication information from a network device; and release the RRC connection according to the release indication information.

[0125] In one possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period, and the chip is also used to send a request message to the network device within a first time before the end of the first time period, the request message being used to request the release of the RRC connection; receive release indication information from the network device; and release the RRC connection according to the release indication information.

[0126] In one possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a second time period, and the chip is also used to send a request message to the network device within a second time before the start time of the second time period, the request message being used to request the release of the RRC connection; receive release indication information from the network device; and release the RRC connection according to the release indication information.

[0127] In one possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period, and the chip is also used to send a restore RRC connection request message to the network device in the first time period; receive an RRC restore confirmation message from the network device; and restore the RRC connection according to the RRC restore confirmation message.

[0128] In a possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link is carried in broadcast information, or the availability information of the feeder link is carried in proprietary signaling.

[0129] In a possible implementation, the chip is further configured to send a random access request to the network device when the feeder link is available.

[0130] In a possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period, and the chip is further configured to send a random access request to the network device when in the first time period.

[0131] In a possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a second time period, and the chip is further configured to send a random access request to the network device when the chip is not in the second time period.

[0132] In a possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link is carried in the broadcast information.

[0133] An embodiment of the present application also provides a chip module, which can be used in a terminal device. The chip module includes the above-mentioned chip that can be used in the terminal device.

[0134] In another embodiment: the chip is used to send availability information of the feeder link to the terminal device, and the availability information of the feeder link is used to indicate whether the feeder link is available.

[0135] In one possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes available status information of the feeder link and / or available time information of the feeder link; wherein the available status information includes an available status or an unavailable status, and the available time information includes a first time period in an available status and / or a second time period in an unavailable status.

[0136] In one possible implementation, the terminal device is in a connected state, and the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period. The chip is also used to send release indication information to the terminal device within a first time before the end of the first time period, and the release indication information is used to indicate the release of the wireless resource control RRC connection.

[0137] In one possible implementation, the terminal device is in a connected state, the availability information of the feeder link includes a second time period, and the chip is also used to send release indication information to the terminal device within a second time before the start time of the second time period, and the release indication information is used to indicate the release of the wireless resource control RRC connection.

[0138] In one possible implementation, the terminal device is in a connected state, and the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period. The chip is also used to receive a request message from the terminal device within a first time before the end time of the first time period or within a second time before the start time of the second time period, wherein the request message is used to request the release of the RRC connection; and send release indication information to the terminal device, wherein the release indication information is used to indicate the release of the RRC connection.

[0139] In one possible implementation, the terminal device is in a connected state, the availability information of the feeder link includes a second time period, and the chip is also used to receive a request message from the terminal device within a second time before the start time of the second time period, the request message being used to request the release of the RRC connection; and send release indication information to the terminal device, the release indication information being used to indicate the release of the RRC connection.

[0140] In a possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period, and the chip is further used to receive a restore RRC connection request message from the terminal device in the first time period; and send an RRC restore confirmation message to the terminal device.

[0141] In a possible implementation, the terminal device is in an idle state, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period, and the chip is further configured to receive a random access request from the terminal device when the device is in the first time period.

[0142] In a possible implementation, the terminal device is in an idle state, the availability information of the feeder link includes a second time period, and the chip is further configured to receive a random access request from the terminal device when the chip is not in the second time period.

[0143] In a possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link is carried in broadcast information, or the availability information of the feeder link is carried in signaling.

[0144] An embodiment of the present application also provides a chip module, which can be used in a network device. The chip module includes the above-mentioned chip that can be used in the network device.

[0145] See also Figure 6 , Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the structure of a satellite communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The satellite communication device 600 described in the embodiment of the present application includes: a processor 601 and a memory 602, and the processor 601 and the memory 602 are connected via one or more communication buses.

[0146] The processor 601 may be a central processing unit (CPU), or 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 any conventional processor. The processor 601 is configured to support the user equipment to execute Figure 4 The corresponding function of the terminal device in the method, or execute Figure 4 The corresponding functions of the network devices in the method.

[0147] The memory 602 may include a read-only memory and a random access memory, and provides computer programs and data to the processor 601. A portion of the memory 602 may also include a nonvolatile random access memory.

[0148] In one embodiment, when the processor 601 calls the computer program, it is used to execute: receiving availability information of a feeder link from a network device, where the availability information of the feeder link is used to indicate whether the feeder link is available.

[0149] In one possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes available status information of the feeder link and / or available time information of the feeder link; wherein the available status information includes an available status or an unavailable status, and the available time information includes a first time period in an available status and / or a second time period in an unavailable status.

[0150] In a possible implementation, when the availability information of the feeder link indicates that the feeder link is unavailable, the radio resource control RRC connection is released.

[0151] In a possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period, and within a first time before an end time of the first time period, release indication information is received from the network device; and the RRC connection is released according to the release indication information.

[0152] In a possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a second time period, and release indication information is received from the network device within a second time period before the start time of the second time period; and the RRC connection is released according to the release indication information.

[0153] In one possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period. Within a first time before the end of the first time period, a request message is sent to the network device, where the request message is used to request the release of the RRC connection; release indication information is received from the network device; and the RRC connection is released according to the release indication information.

[0154] In one possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a second time period. Within a second time period before the start time of the second time period, a request message is sent to the network device, where the request message is used to request the release of the RRC connection; release indication information is received from the network device; and the RRC connection is released according to the release indication information.

[0155] In a possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period, during which a restore RRC connection request message is sent to a network device; an RRC restore confirmation message is received from the network device; and the RRC connection is restored according to the RRC restore confirmation message.

[0156] In a possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link is carried in broadcast information, or the availability information of the feeder link is carried in proprietary signaling.

[0157] In a possible implementation, a random access request is sent to the network device when the feeder link is available.

[0158] In a possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period, and in the first time period, a random access request is sent to the network device.

[0159] In a possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes the second time period, and when the second time period is not in progress, a random access request is sent to the network device.

[0160] In a possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link is carried in the broadcast information.

[0161] An embodiment of the present application also provides a chip module, which can be used in a terminal device. The chip module includes the above-mentioned chip that can be used in the terminal device.

[0162] In one embodiment, when the processor 601 calls the computer program, it is used to execute: sending the availability information of the feeder link to the terminal device, where the availability information of the feeder link is used to indicate whether the feeder link is available.

[0163] In one possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes available status information of the feeder link and / or available time information of the feeder link; wherein the available status information includes an available status or an unavailable status, and the available time information includes a first time period in an available status and / or a second time period in an unavailable status.

[0164] In one possible implementation, the terminal device is in a connected state, and the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period. Within a first time before the end of the first time period, release indication information is sent to the terminal device, and the release indication information is used to indicate the release of the wireless resource control RRC connection.

[0165] In one possible implementation, the terminal device is in a connected state, the availability information of the feeder link includes a second time period, and within a second time before the start time of the second time period, release indication information is sent to the terminal device, and the release indication information is used to indicate the release of the wireless resource control RRC connection.

[0166] In one possible implementation, the terminal device is in a connected state, and the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period. A request message from the terminal device is received within a first time before the end time of the first time period, or within a second time before the start time of the second time period, and the request message is used to request the release of the RRC connection; and release indication information is sent to the terminal device, and the release indication information is used to indicate the release of the RRC connection.

[0167] In one possible implementation, the terminal device is in a connected state, the availability information of the feeder link includes a second time period, and within a second time before the start time of the second time period, a request message from the terminal device is received, where the request message is used to request the release of the RRC connection; and release indication information is sent to the terminal device, where the release indication information is used to indicate the release of the RRC connection.

[0168] In a possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period, during which a restore RRC connection request message is received from the terminal device; and an RRC restore confirmation message is sent to the terminal device.

[0169] In a possible implementation, the terminal device is in an idle state, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period, and in the first time period, a random access request is received from the terminal device.

[0170] In a possible implementation, the terminal device is in an idle state, the availability information of the feeder link includes a second time period, and when the terminal device is not in the second time period, a random access request is received from the terminal device.

[0171] In a possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link is carried in the broadcast information, or the availability information of the feeder link is carried in the signaling.

[0172] In a specific implementation, the processor 601 and the memory 602 described in the embodiment of the present invention can execute the Figure 4 The implementation method described in the method embodiment can also be implemented by the embodiment of the present invention. Figure 5 The implementation method of the described satellite communication device will not be repeated here.

[0173] The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program. When the computer program is executed by a processor, it can be used to implement the present application. Figure 4 The satellite communication method described in the corresponding embodiment will not be repeated here.

[0174] The computer-readable storage medium may be an internal storage unit of the computer device of any of the aforementioned embodiments, such as a hard disk or memory of the device. The computer-readable storage medium may also be an external storage device of the computer device, such as a plug-in hard disk equipped on the device, a smart memory card (Smart Media Card, SMC), a secure digital (Secure Digital, SD) card, a flash card (Flash Card), etc. Further, the computer-readable storage medium may also include both an internal storage unit of the computer device and an external storage device. The computer-readable storage medium is used to store computer programs and other programs and data required by the computer device. The computer-readable storage medium may also be used to temporarily store data that has been output or is to be output.

[0175] The embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product. When the computer program product runs on a processor, the method flow of the above method embodiment is implemented.

[0176] 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 the integrated processor 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 part of the chip module (such as a chip, circuit module, etc.) or in different components, or at least some of the modules / units can be implemented in the form of software programs. It is 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 equipment, the modules / units contained therein can all 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 of the terminal equipment, or, at least some of the modules / units can be implemented in the form of a software program, which runs on a processor integrated inside the terminal equipment, and the remaining (if any) modules / units can be implemented in the form of hardware such as circuits.

[0177] Those skilled in the art can understand that all or part of the processes in the above-mentioned embodiments can be implemented by instructing the relevant hardware through a computer program, and the program can be stored in a readable storage medium. When the program is executed, it can include the processes of the embodiments of the above-mentioned methods. Among them, the storage medium can be a disk, an optical disk, a read-only memory (ROM) or a random access memory (RAM).

[0178] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, rather than to limit it. Although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments, or replace some or all of the technical features therein with equivalents. However, these modifications or replacements do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. A satellite communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: A feeder link availability information is received from a network device, where the feeder link availability information is used to indicate whether the feeder link is available.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The availability information of the feeder link includes available state information of the feeder link and / or available time information of the feeder link; The available state information includes an available state or an unavailable state, and the available time information includes a first time period in the available state and / or a second time period in the unavailable state.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: In a case where the availability information of the feeder link indicates that the feeder link is unavailable, releasing the radio resource control RRC connection.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that: The availability information of the feeder link includes the first time period, and when the availability information of the feeder link indicates that the feeder link is unavailable, releasing the radio resource control RRC connection includes: receiving release indication information from the network device within a first time before the end time of the first time period; The RRC connection is released according to the release indication information.

5. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that: The availability information of the feeder link includes the second time period, and when the availability information of the feeder link indicates that the feeder link is unavailable, releasing the radio resource control RRC connection includes: receiving release indication information from the network device within a second time before the start time of the second time period; The RRC connection is released according to the release indication information.

6. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that: The availability information of the feeder link includes the first time period, and when the availability information of the feeder link indicates that the feeder link is unavailable, releasing the radio resource control RRC connection includes: Sending a request message to the network device within a first time before the end of the first time period, where the request message is used to request to release the RRC connection; Receiving release indication information from the network device; The RRC connection is released according to the release indication information.

7. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that: The availability information of the feeder link includes the second time period, and when the availability information of the feeder link indicates that the feeder link is unavailable, releasing the radio resource control RRC connection includes: Sending a request message to the network device within a second time before the start time of the second time period, where the request message is used to request to release the RRC connection; Receiving release indication information from the network device; The RRC connection is released according to the release indication information.

8. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 7, characterized in that: The availability information of the feeder link includes the first time period, and the method further includes: In the first time period, sending a RRC connection restoration request message to the network device; Receiving an RRC recovery confirmation message from the network device; The RRC connection is restored according to the RRC restoration confirmation message.

9. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 8, characterized in that: The availability information of the feeder link is carried in broadcast information, or the availability information of the feeder link is carried in dedicated signaling.

10. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: A random access request is sent to the network device if the feeder link is available.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that: The availability information of the feeder link includes the first time period, and sending a random access request to the network device when the feeder link is available includes: In the first time period, a random access request is sent to the network device.

12. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that: The availability information of the feeder link includes the second time period, and sending a random access request to the network device when the feeder link is available includes: When the second time period is not in progress, a random access request is sent to the network device.

13. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that: The availability information of the feeder link is carried in the broadcast information.

14. A satellite communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: The availability information of the feeder link is sent to the terminal device, where the availability information of the feeder link is used to indicate whether the feeder link is available.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that: The availability information of the feeder link includes available state information of the feeder link and / or available time information of the feeder link; The available state information includes an available state or an unavailable state, and the available time information includes a first time period in the available state and / or a second time period in the unavailable state.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that: The terminal device is in a connected state, the availability information of the feeder link includes the first time period, and the method further includes: Within a first time before the end time of the first time period, release indication information is sent to the terminal device, where the release indication information is used to indicate the release of the radio resource control RRC connection.

17. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that: The terminal device is in a connected state, the availability information of the feeder link includes the second time period, and the method further includes: Within a second time before the start time of the second time period, release indication information is sent to the terminal device, where the release indication information is used to indicate the release of the radio resource control RRC connection.

18. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that: The terminal device is in a connected state, the availability information of the feeder link includes the first time period, and the method further includes: Within a first time before the end of the first time period, receiving a request message from the terminal device, the request message being used to request the release of the RRC connection; Send release indication information to the terminal device, where the release indication information is used to indicate the release of the RRC connection.

19. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that: The terminal device is in a connected state, the availability information of the feeder link includes the second time period, and the method further includes: Within a second time before the start time of the second time period, receiving a request message from the terminal device, the request message being used to request to release the RRC connection; Send release indication information to the terminal device, where the release indication information is used to indicate the release of the RRC connection.

20. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 19, characterized in that: The availability information of the feeder link includes the first time period, and the method further includes: Within the first time period, receiving a restore RRC connection request message from the terminal device; Send an RRC recovery confirmation message to the terminal device.

21. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that: The terminal device is in an idle state, the availability information of the feeder link includes the first time period, and the method further includes: In the first time period, a random access request is received from the terminal device.

22. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that: The terminal device is in an idle state, the availability information of the feeder link includes the second time period, and the method further includes: When the second time period is not in place, a random access request is received from the terminal device.

23. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 22, characterized in that: The availability information of the feeder link is carried in broadcast information, or the availability information of the feeder link is carried in dedicated signaling.

24. A satellite communication device, characterized in that: Deployed on a terminal device, the device includes: The acquisition unit is used to receive availability information of a feeder link from a network device, where the availability information of the feeder link is used to indicate whether the feeder link is available.

25. A satellite communication device, characterized in that: Deployed on a network device, the device comprises: A sending unit is used to send availability information of a feeder link to a terminal device, where the availability information of the feeder link is used to indicate whether the feeder link is available.

26. A chip, characterized in that: The chip includes a processor and a communication interface, the processor is configured to cause the chip to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, or the processor is configured to cause the chip to execute the method according to any one of claims 14 to 23.

27. A module device, characterized in that: The module device includes a communication module, a power module, a storage module and a chip, wherein: The power module is used to provide electrical energy to the module device; The storage module is used to store data and instructions; The communication module is used for internal communication of the module device, or for communication between the module device and an external device; The chip is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, or the chip is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 14 to 23.

28. A satellite communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a processor and a memory, wherein the processor and the memory are connected to each other, wherein the memory is used to store a computer program, the computer program comprises program instructions, and the processor is configured to call the program instructions to execute the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 13, or to execute the method as claimed in any one of claims 14 to 23.

29. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, wherein the computer program includes program instructions, and when the program instructions are executed by a processor, the processor executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, or executes the method according to any one of claims 14 to 23.

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