Communication method and device

Abstract

The invention discloses a communication method and device, and the method comprises the steps that a network element of a core network receives a first request message sent by an operation requester, and the first request message is used for requesting to execute a first operation on a first passive Internet of Things terminal; and if the core network element determines that the first passive Internet of Things terminal does not support the first operation, the core network element refuses to send an instruction of the first operation to the first passive Internet of Things terminal. In the method, when a first passive Internet of Things terminal does not support a first operation, a core network element refuses to send an instruction of the first operation to the first passive Internet of Things terminal, that is, the core network element does not send the instruction of the first operation to the first passive Internet of Things terminal. Through the method, the network element of the core network can be prevented from sending an unnecessary operation instruction to the first passive Internet of Things terminal, so that the waste of signaling is avoided.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The embodiments of the present application relate to the technical field of Internet of Things, and in particular to a communication method and device. Background Art

[0002] The passive Internet of Things, which consists of tags, readers, and core networks, is often used to manage the storage and transportation of items. Tags are usually attached to items, and the operation requester manages the object by managing the tags. The management of tags includes identification, authentication, and operation of tags.

[0003] When the core network performs an operation on a tag in a certain area at the request of the operation requester, it will page all tags in the area and send corresponding operation instructions to each tag in the area. However, there may be tags in the area that do not support a certain operation. It is unnecessary to page all tags in the area and / or send corresponding operation instructions to each tag in the area by default, which will cause a waste of signaling. Summary of the invention

[0004] The embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and apparatus for avoiding unnecessary signaling overhead.

[0005] In order to achieve the above purpose, the embodiment of the present application adopts the following technical solution:

[0006] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a first communication method, which can be performed by a first communication device, and the first communication device can be a communication device or a communication device that can support the communication device to implement the functions required for the method. For example, the first communication device can be a core network element / core network device. Alternatively, the first communication device can be a core network element or a unit or functional module inside the core network element. For example, the first communication device can be a chip / chip system arranged in the core network element. The method provided in the first aspect is described below by taking the first communication device as the core network element itself as an example.

[0007] The communication method includes: a core network network element receives a first request message sent by an operation requester, where the first request message is used to request to perform a first operation on a first passive Internet of Things terminal; if the core network network element determines that the first passive Internet of Things terminal does not support the first operation, the core network network element refuses to send an instruction for the first operation to the first passive Internet of Things terminal.

[0008] In this solution, after receiving the first request message, the core network element determines whether the first passive IoT terminal supports the first operation. When the first passive IoT terminal does not support the first operation, the core network element refuses to send the first operation instruction to the first passive IoT terminal, that is, the core network element will not send the first operation instruction to the first passive IoT terminal. This solution can avoid the core network element from sending unnecessary operation instructions to the first passive IoT terminal, thereby avoiding the waste of signaling.

[0009] In a possible implementation, if the core network element determines that a passive IoT terminal supports a first operation, the core network element sends operation information to the first passive IoT terminal, where the operation information includes an identifier of the first passive IoT terminal and information about the first operation.

[0010] In a possible implementation, the core network network element determines whether the first passive Internet of Things terminal supports a first operation, including: the core network network element obtains first capability information of the first passive Internet of Things terminal, and the first capability information corresponds to the operation supported by the first passive Internet of Things terminal; if the first operation belongs to the operation corresponding to the first capability information, the core network network element determines that the first passive Internet of Things terminal supports the first operation.

[0011] The operations that a passive IoT terminal can support can be characterized by the capabilities of the passive IoT terminal, and the types of operations supported by passive IoT terminals with different capabilities may also be different. This solution determines whether the first passive IoT terminal supports the first operation based on the capability information of the first passive IoT terminal.

[0012] In a possible implementation, before the core network element obtains the first capability information of the first passive IoT terminal, the method also includes: the core network element sends first indication information to the reader, and the first indication information is used to instruct the first passive IoT terminal to report the capability information of the first passive IoT terminal.

[0013] When the core network element needs to obtain the capability information of the first passive IoT terminal, the reader can be used to instruct the first passive IoT terminal to report its own capability information so as to obtain the latest capability information of the first passive IoT terminal as much as possible.

[0014] In a possible implementation, the first indication information is carried in an N2 message.

[0015] In a possible implementation, the core network network element obtains the first capability information of the first passive Internet of Things terminal, including: the core network network element queries the stored context of the first passive Internet of Things terminal, and the context of the first passive Internet of Things terminal includes the first capability information of the first passive Internet of Things terminal; or, the core network network element obtains the first capability information of the first passive Internet of Things terminal from the data management network element.

[0016] In this solution, the capability information of the first passive IoT terminal can be added to the context of the first passive IoT terminal, so that the core network element obtains the capability information of the first passive IoT terminal by obtaining the context of the first passive IoT terminal.

[0017] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: a core network element receiving second capability information of the first passive IoT terminal and storing the second capability information. The second capability information is capability information after the capability of the first passive IoT terminal changes.

[0018] The core network element can update the capability information of the first passive IoT terminal to ensure that whether the first passive IoT terminal supports the first operation is determined based on the latest capability information of the first passive IoT terminal, thereby improving the accuracy of determining whether the first passive IoT terminal supports the first operation.

[0019] Optionally, the second capability information includes indication information that the first passive IoT terminal is unavailable.

[0020] In a possible implementation, the first capability information of the first passive Internet of Things terminal or the second capability information of the first passive Internet of Things terminal includes the following information: information about operations supported by the first passive Internet of Things terminal, and / or the type of the first passive Internet of Things terminal, wherein the type of the first passive Internet of Things terminal has a mapping relationship with the operations supported by the first passive Internet of Things terminal.

[0021] The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific implementation form of the capability information of the first passive IoT terminal. For example, the capability of the first passive IoT terminal may be represented by the type of the first passive IoT terminal.

[0022] In a possible implementation, the first request message includes an identifier of the operation requester and one or more of the following: information of the first passive IoT terminal, location information, and information of the first operation, wherein the location information is used to indicate the geographical location range of the execution.

[0023] In a possible implementation, the first request message only includes the identifier of the operation requester, and the method further includes: the core network element queries the contract data of the operation requester based on the identifier of the operation requester, and determines the geographical location range and / or the operations that can be performed by the operation requester based on the contract data.

[0024] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the core network network element determines that the first passive Internet of Things terminal is unavailable based on the second capability information, and the core network network element sends an alarm message to the operation requester, wherein the alarm message is used to indicate that the first passive Internet of Things terminal is unavailable.

[0025] When the first passive IoT terminal is unavailable, the core network element may notify the operation requester to avoid the operation requester requesting to operate the first passive IoT terminal, which would cause a waste of signaling.

[0026] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a second communication method, which can be performed by a second communication device, and the second communication device can be a communication device or a communication device that can support the communication device to implement the functions required by the method. For example, the second communication device can be a reader. Alternatively, the second communication device can be a unit, a functional module, etc. inside the reader. For example, the second communication device can be a chip / chip system set in the reader. The method provided by the second aspect is described below by taking the second communication device as the reader itself as an example.

[0027] The communication method includes: a reader receives first indication information sent by a core network network element, the first indication information is used to instruct a first passive Internet of Things terminal to report first capability information of the first passive Internet of Things terminal, the first capability information corresponds to an operation supported by the first passive Internet of Things terminal; the reader sends the first indication information to the first passive Internet of Things terminal.

[0028] In the method, the reader responds to the instruction of the core network element and instructs the first passive Internet of Things terminal to report the first capability information of the first passive Internet of Things terminal, so that the core network element can obtain the first capability information of the first passive Internet of Things terminal.

[0029] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the reader receives second capability information sent by the first passive IoT terminal, the second capability information being capability information after the capability of the first passive IoT terminal has changed; and the reader sends the second capability information to a core network element.

[0030] When the reader obtains the capability information of the first passive IoT terminal after the capability is changed, it can be sent to the core network element so that the core network element can obtain the latest capability information of the first passive IoT terminal.

[0031] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a third communication method, which can be performed by a third communication device, and the third communication device can be a communication device or a communication device that can support the communication device to implement the functions required by the method. The third communication device can be a passive IoT terminal. Or the third communication device can be a unit, a functional module, etc. inside the passive IoT terminal. For example, the third communication device can be a chip / chip system set in the passive IoT terminal. The method provided in the third aspect is described below by taking the third communication device as the first passive IoT terminal itself as an example.

[0032] The communication method includes: the first passive Internet of Things terminal receives first indication information sent by a reader, the first indication information is used to instruct the first passive Internet of Things terminal to report first capability information of the first passive Internet of Things terminal, the first capability information corresponds to an operation supported by the first passive Internet of Things terminal; the first passive Internet of Things terminal sends the first capability information to the reader.

[0033] In this method, the first passive Internet of Things terminal reports first capability information to the reader in response to the instruction of the reader, so that the reader notifies the core network network element of the first capability information. The core network network element determines whether to send an operation instruction to the first passive Internet of Things terminal based on the first capability information to avoid sending unnecessary operation instructions.

[0034] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the first passive IoT terminal sending second capability information to the reader, where the second capability information is capability information after the capability of the first passive IoT terminal has changed.

[0035] After the capability of the first passive IoT terminal changes, the changed capability information can be actively reported to the reader, so that the network side can obtain the latest capability information of the first passive IoT terminal.

[0036] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a fourth communication method, which can be performed by a third communication device, and the third communication device can be a communication device or a communication device that can support the communication device to implement the functions required for the method, such as a chip system. The third communication device can be a passive IoT terminal or a unit or functional module inside a passive IoT terminal. For example, the third communication device can be a chip set in a passive IoT terminal. The method provided in the fourth aspect is described below by taking the third communication device as the first passive IoT terminal itself as an example.

[0037] The communication method includes: a first passive Internet of Things terminal receives indication information and filtering information of a first operation from a reader, the first operation is an operation that needs to be performed on the first passive Internet of Things terminal, and the filtering information is used to screen passive Internet of Things terminals that meet the conditions; the first passive Internet of Things terminal determines that the conditions indicated by the filtering information are met, and the first passive Internet of Things terminal does not support the first operation, and the first passive Internet of Things terminal refuses random access.

[0038] In this solution, when the first passive IoT terminal is accessing the reader, even if the first passive IoT terminal meets the conditions indicated by the filtering information, when the first passive IoT terminal does not support the first operation, the first passive IoT terminal also refuses random access, so that the first passive IoT terminal will not access the reader. Subsequently, the reader will not send the first operation instruction to the first passive IoT terminal, thereby reducing unnecessary signaling overhead.

[0039] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a fifth communication method, which can be performed by a third communication device, and the third communication device can be a communication device or a communication device that can support the communication device to implement the functions required for the method, such as a chip system. The third communication device can be a passive IoT terminal or a unit or functional module inside a passive IoT terminal. For example, the third communication device can be a chip set in a passive IoT terminal. The method provided in the fifth aspect is described below by taking the third communication device as the first passive IoT terminal itself as an example.

[0040] The communication method includes: a first passive Internet of Things terminal receives indication information of a first operation from a reader, where the first operation is an operation that needs to be performed on the first passive Internet of Things terminal; the first passive Internet of Things terminal determines that the first operation is not supported, and sends first information to a core network element, where the first information is used to indicate that the first passive Internet of Things terminal does not support the first operation.

[0041] In this solution, after the first passive IoT terminal receives the indication information of the first operation sent by the reader, if it determines that the first operation is not supported, it can feedback to the core network network element, so that the core network network element does not need to send an instruction to perform the first operation to the first passive IoT terminal, thereby reducing signaling overhead.

[0042] In combination with possible implementations of the fourth aspect or the fifth aspect, the method further includes: the first passive IoT terminal determines whether the first passive IoT terminal supports a first operation based on capability information of the first passive IoT terminal; wherein the capability information of the first passive IoT terminal includes: information on operations supported by the first passive IoT terminal; or, the type of the first passive IoT terminal, and the type of the first passive IoT terminal has a mapping relationship with the operations supported by the first passive IoT terminal.

[0043] In combination with possible implementations of the fourth aspect or the fifth aspect, the method further includes: the first passive IoT terminal sends second capability information to the reader, where the second capability information is capability information after the capability of the first passive IoT terminal has changed.

[0044] After the capability of the first passive IoT terminal changes, the changed capability information can be actively reported to the reader, so that the network side can obtain the latest capability information of the first passive IoT terminal.

[0045] In combination with a possible implementation of the fourth aspect or the fifth aspect, the indication information of the first operation is carried in an N2 message, or the indication information of the first operation is carried in a non-access stratum (NAS) message in the N2 message.

[0046] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, wherein the communication device has the function of implementing the behavior in the method example of any aspect of the first aspect to the fifth aspect, and the beneficial effects can be referred to the description of the first aspect to the fifth aspect, and no further description is given here. For example, the communication device may be the first communication device in the first aspect, for example, the communication device may be a core network element. Alternatively, the communication device may be a device capable of supporting the core network element in the first aspect to implement the functions required by the method provided in the first aspect, for example, the communication device may be a chip or chip system in the core network element. For another example, the communication device may also be the second communication device in the second aspect, for example, the communication device may be a reader. Alternatively, the communication device may be a device capable of supporting the reader in the second aspect to implement the functions required by the method provided in the first aspect, for example, the communication device may be a chip or chip system in the reader. For another example, the communication device may also be the third communication device in any aspect of the third aspect to the fifth aspect, for example, the communication device may be a first passive IoT terminal. Alternatively, the communication device may be a device capable of supporting the functions required by the method provided in any aspect of the third aspect to the fifth aspect, for example, the communication device may be a chip or chip system in the first passive IoT terminal.

[0047] In one possible design, the communication device includes corresponding means or modules for executing the method of any aspect of the first aspect to the fifth aspect. For example, the communication device includes a processing unit (sometimes also referred to as a processing module or processor) and / or a transceiver unit (sometimes also referred to as a transceiver module or transceiver). The transceiver unit can implement the sending function and the receiving function. When the transceiver unit implements the sending function, it can be called a sending unit (sometimes also referred to as a sending module). When the transceiver unit implements the receiving function, it can be called a receiving unit (sometimes also referred to as a receiving module). The sending unit and the receiving unit can be the same functional unit, which is called a transceiver unit, and the functional unit can implement the sending function and the receiving function; or, the sending unit and the receiving unit can be different functional units, and the transceiver unit is a general term for these functional units. These units (modules) can perform the corresponding functions in the method examples of any aspect of the first aspect to the fifth aspect above. Please refer to the detailed description in the method examples for details, which will not be repeated here.

[0048] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which may be the communication device in the sixth aspect of the above embodiment, or a chip or chip system arranged in the communication device in the sixth aspect. The communication device includes a communication interface and a processor, and optionally, also includes a memory. The memory is used to store computer programs or instructions or data, and the processor is coupled to the memory and the communication interface. When the processor reads the computer program or instructions or data, the communication device executes the method executed by the core network element or reader or the first passive IoT terminal in the above method embodiment.

[0049] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip system, which includes a processor and may also include a memory and / or a communication interface for implementing the method described in any of the first to fifth aspects. Optionally, the chip system also includes a memory. The memory is used to store computer programs (also referred to as codes, or instructions). The processor is used to call and run a computer program from the memory so that a device equipped with the chip system executes any of the first to fifth aspects, and any of the methods in any possible implementation of any of the first to fifth aspects. The chip system may be composed of chips, or may include chips and other discrete devices.

[0050] In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which includes an input / output interface and a logic circuit. The input / output interface is used to input and / or output information. The input / output interface can be an interface circuit, an output circuit, an input circuit, a pin or a related circuit, etc. The logic circuit is used to execute the method described in any one of the first to fifth aspects.

[0051] In the specific implementation process, the above-mentioned communication device can be a chip, the input circuit can be an input pin, the output circuit can be an output pin, and the logic circuit can be a transistor, a gate circuit, a trigger, and various logic circuits. The input signal received by the input circuit can be, for example, but not limited to, received and input by a receiver, and the signal output by the output circuit can be, for example, but not limited to, output to a transmitter and transmitted by the transmitter, and the input circuit and the output circuit can be the same circuit, which is used as an input circuit and an output circuit at different times. This application does not limit the specific implementation of the input and output interface and the logic circuit.

[0052] In the tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, which includes a core network network element for implementing the function of the first aspect, a reader for implementing the function of the second aspect, and a first passive Internet of Things terminal for implementing the function of the third aspect; or, the communication system includes a first passive Internet of Things terminal and a reader and a core network network element for implementing the function of the fourth aspect or the fifth aspect.

[0053] In an eleventh aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, which, when executed, implements the method in any of the first to fifth aspects described above.

[0054] In a twelfth aspect, a computer program product is provided, the computer program product comprising: a computer program code, when the computer program code is run, the method in any of the above-mentioned first to fifth aspects is executed.

[0055] The beneficial effects of the sixth to twelfth aspects and their implementations mentioned above can refer to the description of the beneficial effects of the first to fifth aspects, or the first to fifth aspects and their implementations. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0056] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a structure of a communication system applicable to an embodiment of the present application;

[0057] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the process of counting tags for the reader;

[0058] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a first communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0059] Figure 4 for Figure 3 A schematic diagram of an example of;

[0060] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a flow chart of a second communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0061] Figure 6 Another schematic diagram of the second communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0062] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of a third communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0063] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0064] Fig. 9 Another schematic diagram of the structure of the communication device provided in the embodiment of the present application;

[0065] Fig.10 This is another structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0066] The Internet of Things (IoT) technology is widely used in various industries. For example, IoT technology can be applied to the transportation management of warehouse materials and fixed asset management.

[0067] A) Warehouse material transportation management: IoT tags can be attached to goods and stored in warehouses, shopping malls, etc. During the logistics process, the goods-related information is automatically collected by the reader, and the management personnel can quickly query the goods information in the system. This can reduce the risk of goods being discarded or stolen, improve the efficiency of goods handover, and increase the accuracy.

[0068] B) Fixed asset management: Fixed assets or valuables such as libraries, art galleries and museums usually require complete management procedures or rigorous protection measures. When there are abnormal changes in asset information, the administrator will be reminded in the system in a timely manner to handle the relevant situation. Therefore, IoT tags can be attached to fixed assets or valuables to achieve management of fixed assets based on IoT technology.

[0069] The management of goods, assets, etc. based on tags can also be considered as the management of tags on goods and assets. The management of tags involves operating the tags. In order to better understand the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, some concepts related to the embodiment of the present application are first introduced.

[0070] 1) Tags, as a form of passive IoT terminals, can be passive tags, active tags, or semi-passive tags / semi-active tags. Each tag has a corresponding identifier, and each tag can be identified based on the tag identifier (referred to as the tag identifier). The tag identifier can be a globally unique identifier, or the tag identifier can be a temporary identifier or a globally non-unique identifier. The tag identifier may include one or more of a network identifier, a user identifier of the tag, and a serial number. The serial number is used to indicate a unique tag. For example, the serial number may be an electronic product code (EPC), a terminal identification (TID), etc., or it may be a number assigned by a user or an operator. The tag identifier may include but is not limited to: EPC, SUbscription permanent identifier (SUPI), globally unique AMF identifier (GUAMI), globally unique temporary UE identity (GUTI), S-temporary mobile subscription identifier (S-TMSI), or the tag's user information (such as the tag's public land mobile network (PLMN)), etc. In the embodiment of the present application, the tag identifier is applicable to all passive IoT terminals, or in other words, the tag identifier is a form of identification of a passive IoT terminal.

[0071] It should be noted that, in possible scenarios, the user identifier of the tag may be the same as the identifier of the operation requester. The operation requester can be understood as a device that sends an operation instruction, which operates the terminal. For example, the operation requester can be a server, an application function (AF), an application server (AS), a passive IoT (P-IoT) AS, a P-IoT AF, an IoT AF, or other devices that send operation instructions. The operation requester is managed by a certain type of user, and this type of user may include enterprises, tenants, third parties, or companies, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the users who manage the operation requester.

[0072] The identification of the operation requester may include one or more of the following: AF identifier (AF identifier or AF identity, AF ID), service identifier (service identifier or service identity, service ID), application identifier (application identifier or application identity, APP ID), address information of AF, port information of AF, address information of application server AS, port information of application server AS. The address of AF or AS is, for example, an Internet protocol address (internet protocol address, IP), a media access control (media access control, MAC) address, an IPv6 prefix, etc.; the port of AF or AS is, for example, a transmission control protocol (transmission control protocol, TCP) port, a user datagram protocol (user datagram protocol, UDP) port.

[0073] 2) Tag operations can be understood as operations involving interactions with tags. For example, the operation requester can forward a message to the tag through a reader, and the message may include information about the operation that needs to be performed on the tag. Alternatively, the reader can also forward a message from the tag to the operation requester. The reader can parse or process messages from the operation requester or the tag. In some possible scenarios, the reader does not need to parse messages from the operation requester and / or from the tag, and is only responsible for forwarding the received messages. Several common tag operations are listed below.

[0074] A) Inventory operation (also known as inventory operation), through which the reader or core network can obtain the tag identification of the passive IoT terminal, and then send the obtained tag identification to the server. The reader can perform an inventory operation on all tags within the coverage range to obtain the identification of all tags within the coverage range of the reader. The inventory operation for all tags within the coverage range is also called a full tag inventory operation or an unrestricted inventory operation; or, when the tag identification range in the above inventory operation is not limited, the inventory operation is to obtain the identification of the tags within the coverage range of the reader.

[0075] B) Read operation, which can read data from the tag. Generally, the tag has a storage function, and its storage area can store data. If the operation requester needs to read the data stored in the tag, the operation requester can send a read operation instruction, and the reader or core network performs a read operation on the tag according to the instruction, reads the data from the tag storage area, and then can feed back the read data to the operation requester.

[0076] C) Write operation, which can write data to the tag. The operation requester can send a write operation instruction, and the reader or core network performs a write operation on the tag according to the instruction, thereby writing data to the tag's storage area.

[0077] D) Positioning operation can obtain the location information of the tag. The operation requester can send a positioning operation instruction, and the reader or core network can perform a positioning operation on the tag according to the instruction, and then feedback the positioning data to the operation requester.

[0078] D) Kill operation, also known as invalidation operation, can invalidate or inactivate the tag identification. Invalid or inactivated tags cannot support certain operations, for example, these operations include inventory operations or other possible operations. The operation requester can send a kill operation instruction, which can include a tag identification to indicate the tag that is expected to be invalidated. The reader or core network performs a kill operation on the tag according to the kill operation instruction, and the tag will become invalid after the kill operation.

[0079] E) Get tag information operation, which can obtain tag information, such as tag identification, tag storage information, tag location information, etc. When the operation requester needs to obtain tag information, it can send an instruction carrying the get tag information operation. The reader or core network then sends the get tag information operation to the tag, and the tag executes the get tag information and feeds the tag information back to the reader.

[0080] The operation types of tags in the embodiments of the present application are merely examples, and the operation types of tags are not limited in the embodiments of the present application. For example, tag operations also include operations of exchanging messages (such as random numbers) with tags, operations of sending loads (such as data, instructions or information related to tags from the operation requester) to tags, etc.

[0081] 3) Tag inventory, that is, obtaining the identification of existing tags, that is, taking inventory of existing tags. Tag inventory requires tags to access the network. After each tag is randomly connected to the network, the tag identification can be reported to the reader, so that the reader can determine the existence of tags within the coverage area.

[0082] See also Figure 1 , shows an example of the process of a reader taking inventory of tags, including the following steps.

[0083] S101. An operation requester sends an inventory request to a reader. The inventory request is used to request an inventory operation to be performed on one or more tags.

[0084] When the operation requester needs to take inventory of certain tags, an inventory request can be sent to the reader. The operation request method can send the inventory request to the reader directly, or send the inventory request to the reader through a relay. The inventory request can include one or more of the following: reader identification information, inventory operation and tag location information (such as coordinate values, longitude and latitude, tracking area information, cell information, etc.) to instruct a specific reader to perform an inventory operation on the tags in the area indicated by the location information. For example, an inventory request can include "Inventory; Reader Identifier 1, Reader Identifier 2; XX High-tech Zone", which means requesting readers with reader identifier 1 and reader identifier 2 to take inventory of tags in XX High-tech Zone. Furthermore, the inventory request can also include a tag identification range to indicate that the tags within the identification range are to be taken inventory. For example, an inventory request may include "inventory; reader ID 1, reader ID 2; XX High-tech Zone; tag ID range: 1-50", which means requesting readers with reader ID 1 and reader ID 2 to take inventory of tags within the ID range of 1-50 in XX High-tech Zone.

[0085] S102: The reader broadcasts an inventory command, which includes a tag range to be counted.

[0086] The inventory instruction may be a select message or a paging message. The inventory instruction includes the tag range to be inventoried, and the tag range may be the identification information of the tag. Using the example of S101, the inventory instruction may include "tag identification range: 1-50". The tag identification range may also be a user identification, such as the identification of the service requester (such as AFidentify, the IP address of the service requester, etc.); the range identification may also be a network identification, such as the identification of the network supported by the reader (such as PLMN ID, NID, etc.).

[0087] S103, the tag is connected to the reader.

[0088] The tag is the tag indicated by the inventory command. Any tag receives the inventory command and determines whether the tag identifier belongs to the tag identifier range included in the inventory command. If it does, the tag is connected to the reader. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the way in which the tag is connected to the reader. For example, Figure 1 S1031-S1033 is an example process of a tag accessing a reader.

[0089] S1031. The reader sends a query message.

[0090] S1032: If the tag determines that its own identification is within the tag range indicated by the selection message, after monitoring the query message, it sends a random number to the reader in response to the query message.

[0091] S1033: The reader sends a confirmation message to the tag, where the confirmation message includes the random number received from the tag.

[0092] The reader sends a confirmation message to the tag. If the random number included in the confirmation message is consistent with the random number sent by the tag to the reader, the tag accesses the reader.

[0093] The tag accesses the reader value, and can feed back the inventory result to the core network through the reader, and then feed back the inventory result to the operation requester through the core network. The inventory result includes the tag's own identification.

[0094] Figure 1 Take the example of a reader performing an inventory operation. The reader in the embodiment of the present application has the function of performing tag operations on a terminal (such as a tag). For example, the reader can send an operation instruction from the operation requester to the tag. If the operation instruction sent by the operation requester includes an inventory operation, the reader can forward the inventory operation to the tag to obtain the tag's information. If the operation instruction includes a read operation, the reader can forward the read operation to the tag, the tag performs the read operation, and can feed back the obtained result to the core network. If the operation instruction includes a write operation, the reader writes the data into the storage area of ​​the tag. The reader can also send a message from the tag to the operation requester.

[0095] With the development of IoT technology, the passive Internet of Things composed of tags, readers, and core networks can be widely used in various scenarios. For example, in logistics and warehousing scenarios, IoT terminal devices can be used to carry out inventory and tracking of goods, as well as environmental and cargo status monitoring during the transportation of high-value goods (e.g., goods or fixed assets); for another example, in industrial manufacturing scenarios, IoT terminal devices can be used to monitor the environment and equipment status. For the convenience of description, the embodiment of this application takes the scenario where the user is an enterprise and the enterprise uses tags as an example.

[0096] Usually, a terminal (such as a tag) has a default identifier saved when it leaves the factory. The default identifier can be stored by the manufacturer for the terminal. After the operation requester purchases the terminal from the manufacturer, the terminal identifier can be reset to replace the saved default identifier. The operation requester can assign different EPCs to different terminals, so that the EPC of each terminal can uniquely identify the corresponding terminal. Subsequently, the operation requester can manage the terminal in a unified manner through the EPC that is reallocated to the terminal.

[0097] Depending on the actual application scenario, the enterprise using the terminal may also be different. Different enterprises may purchase (or manage) different terminals, and the same user identifier can be assigned to the terminals of the same enterprise, and the user identifier includes the enterprise identifier (or enterprise code). Different user identifiers are assigned to the terminals of different enterprises, so that each terminal can be managed on a per-enterprise basis. Alternatively, an enterprise may have multiple departments (parks), and the same geographical area can be assigned to the terminals of the same park, and different geographical areas can be assigned to the terminals of different parks, so that each terminal can be managed on a per-enterprise basis.

[0098] The tags that the enterprise can access and the types of operations that can be performed on the tags (referred to as operation types) can be stored in the enterprise's contract data. Here, "accessible tags" refer to tags that can perform operations. The enterprise's contract data can be stored with the tag identifier as an index, as shown in Table 1; or, the enterprise's contract data can also be stored with the enterprise identifier as an index, as shown in Table 2. Tables 1 and 2 illustrate enterprises with AF.

[0099] Table 1

[0100]

[0101] Table 2

[0102]

[0103] As shown in Tables 1 and 2, the same tag can be accessed by the same enterprise, and the same tag can be located in different areas managed by different enterprises. When an enterprise needs to perform a specific operation on one or some tags, it can query the contract data of the enterprise to determine whether the enterprise can perform the specific operation on one or some tags.

[0104] For example, if AF1 wants to perform an inventory operation on tag 1 in area 1 that it manages, AF1 can send an inventory request to the core network, and the inventory request may include the identification information of tag 1 (i.e., identification 1) and the information of area 1. The core network can retrieve the contract data of AF1 based on identification 1 or AF1, as shown in Table 1 or Table 2. It can be seen from Table 1 that tag 1 can be inventoried by AF1. It can also be seen from Table 2 that tag 1 can be inventoried. If AF1 wants to perform a write operation on tag 1 in area 1 that it manages, AF1 can send an inventory request to the core network, and the inventory request may include the identification information of tag 1 (i.e., identification 1) and the information of area 1. The core network can retrieve the contract data of AF1 based on identification 1 or AF1, as shown in Table 1 or Table 2. It can be seen from Table 1 that tag 1 cannot be written by AF1. It can also be seen from Table 2 that tag 1 cannot be written.

[0105] Different tags can support different operations. For example, tag 1 can support inventory operations and read operations, but does not support write operations. Tag 2 can support inventory operations and write operations, but does not support read operations. The operations that a tag can support can characterize the capabilities of the tag. Tags with different capabilities support different operations. For example, please refer to Table 3, which shows a correspondence between the capabilities of a tag and the supported operations. Table 3 takes the different capabilities of different types of tags as an example. It should be noted that Table 3 is only for illustration, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific mapping relationship between the capabilities of a tag and the supported operations.

[0106] Table 3

[0107]

[0108] For an enterprise, it only knows the operations supported by the tags that have signed contracts, but does not know the capabilities of the tags that have not signed contracts, and therefore does not know the operations supported by the tags that have not signed contracts. In addition, considering the mobility of tags, tags that have not signed contracts with the enterprise (such as the first tag) may move to a certain geographical area. For this geographical area, the core network and the enterprise do not know the capability information of the first tag in this geographical area. In addition, as the capabilities of the tags signed by the enterprise change, the operations supported will also change. For example, the tags signed by the enterprise may change from an active state to a passive state due to power shortages, lack of light, etc., and the number of operations supported will also decrease. If the reader performs operations on all tags in a certain geographical area at the request of the enterprise, it will cause a waste of signaling. For example, it will cause a waste of signaling involved in the above steps S102-S103, and a waste of signaling involved in performing operations.

[0109] For example, area A is a campus of enterprise A, and area A includes tag A, which does not support write operations. If enterprise A wants to perform write operations on all tags in area A, the core network currently pages all tags in area A at the request of enterprise A. However, paging for tag A is unnecessary, which results in a waste of paging for tag A. Even currently, the default is to send write operation instructions to each tag in area A, which is unnecessary for tag A, resulting in a waste of operation instructions for tag A.

[0110] In order to solve the above problems, a solution of an embodiment of the present application is provided. In an embodiment of the present application, for the tag that the enterprise needs to perform operations on, on the basis of authenticating the contract data of the enterprise, a secondary authentication is also performed based on the capabilities of the tag itself, so that the network filters out tags whose capabilities do not allow them to be operated. Through the solution provided by the embodiment of the present application, the network will filter out at least one tag that is not allowed to be operated, and naturally will not page the at least one tag, and will not send operation instructions to the at least one tag, thereby saving signaling overhead.

[0111] The communication method provided in the present application can be applied to various communication systems. For example, the communication system can be the Internet of Things IoT, long term evolution (LTE), the fifth generation (5G) communication system, or a hybrid architecture of LTE and 5G, or a new communication system that will appear in 6G or future communication development. The communication system can also be a machine to machine (M2M) network, a machine type communication (MTC) or other network. Among them, IoT can include one or more of passive IoT (P-IoT; or ambient IoT, A-IoT; or ambient power-enabled IoT, A-IoT), semi-passive IoT (semi-passive IoT), semi-active IoT (semi-active IoT), active IoT (active IoT), or narrowband IoT (NB-IoT).

[0112] Among them, the passive Internet of Things may include a passive Internet of Things terminal, which may include one or more of a passive terminal, a semi-passive terminal and an active terminal. The passive Internet of Things terminal may be in the form of a tag or in other terminal forms, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited. Among them, passive and semi-passive terminals may communicate through reflected carriers, that is, they need to rely on an external carrier source to communicate. The passive terminal may have an energy storage capacitor or may not have an energy storage capacitor. If it does not have an energy storage capacitor, it needs to rely on the external environment to obtain energy for communication, such as radio frequency energy. For semi-passive terminals, they may have a power amplifier, so that the communication distance is improved compared to passive terminals. For semi-passive terminals, they usually have an energy storage capacitor, and energy in the environment, such as solar energy, radio power, etc., can be stored in the capacitor. For active terminals (active devices), they can actively generate carriers (or can be understood as having carrier recovery capabilities), and they do not need to rely on an external carrier source to communicate, so they can have active communication capabilities. In one possible implementation, they can also have energy storage capacitors and can obtain energy through solar energy, radio frequency, wind energy, hydropower or tidal energy, and there is no restriction on the way of obtaining energy. These nodes are not equipped with or rely on power devices such as batteries, but obtain energy from the environment to support data perception, transmission and distributed computing. The nodes can also store the obtained energy.

[0113] Figure 2The communication system to which the embodiment of the present application is applicable is shown. The communication system may include a terminal, a reader, a core network and an operation requester. The operation requester and the terminal may exchange information through the reader and the core network.

[0114] 1) Terminal, also known as terminal equipment, terminal device, including user equipment (UE), access station, UE station, remote station, wireless communication equipment, or user device, chip, etc. The terminal equipment is used to connect people, objects, machines, etc., and can be widely used in various scenarios. For example, the terminal equipment can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal, an augmented reality (AR) terminal, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a whole vehicle, a wireless communication module in the whole vehicle, a vehicle-mounted T-box (Telematics BOX), a rodeside unit (RSU), a wireless terminal in unmanned driving, and an unmanned aerial vehicle (unmanned aerial vehicle or uncrewed aerial vehicle, UAV) with communication function.

[0115] Alternatively, the terminal may also be an IoT device, such as a tag, sensor, electric meter, water meter and other IoT devices. The tag involved in the embodiment of the present application may be in the form of a tag, or may be in any terminal form. Alternatively, the terminal involved in the embodiment of the present application may be in the form of a tag. For example, the terminal in the embodiment of the present application may be a tag. Similar to the tag, the passive IoT terminal in the embodiment of the present application may also be divided into a passive terminal, an active terminal or a semi-active terminal / semi-passive terminal.

[0116] 2) Reader, which can provide network access function for the terminal. For example, if the terminal is a tag, the reader can interact with the tag through radio frequency signals or wireless signals to provide the terminal with network access function. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the name of the reader, as long as it is a device that has the ability to interact with the tag. For example, the reader can also be called a reader-writer or other names. In the embodiment of the present application, the reader-writer and the reader can be replaced with each other.

[0117] In the embodiments of the present application, the reader can be regarded as an access network (AN) (also referred to as an access network device or an access network element). The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the reader. For example, the reader can be a terminal device, such as a mobile phone, an IoT device, or a portable reader / writer. For another example, the reader can also be an access network device (also referred to as a network device), such as a base station (NodeB), an evolved base station (evolvedNodeB, eNB or eNodeB), a base station (gNB) in a 5G mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an AP in a Wi-Fi system. Alternatively, the access network device can also be a wireless controller in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario, or the access network device can be a relay station, an access point, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, and a network device in a future new wireless (NR) network or a network device in a future communication network. Moreover, the access network device can also be a module or unit that completes some functions of a base station, for example, a centralized unit (CU) or a distributed unit (DU). The CU here completes the functions of the radio resource control protocol and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) of the base station, and can also complete the function of the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP); the DU completes the functions of the radio link control layer and medium access control (MAC) layer of the base station, and can also complete the functions of part or all of the physical layer. For the specific description of the above-mentioned protocol layers, please refer to the relevant technical specifications of the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP).

[0118] 4) Core network, including one or more core network elements, for example, access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, session management function (SMF) network element, user plane function (UPF) network element, policy control function (PCF) network element, authentication service function (AUSF) network element, data management network element (such as unified data repository (UDR) network element, unified data management (UDM) network element), network exposure function (NEF) network element, etc. The functions and implementations of the above-mentioned network elements can refer to the introduction of the corresponding functional network elements in the 3GPP system architecture in NR, which will not be repeated here.

[0119] The above functions can be network elements in hardware devices, software functions running on dedicated hardware, or virtualized functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform). The above functions can be divided into one or more services, and further, services that exist independently of network functions may also appear. In this application, instances of the above functions, or instances of services included in the above functions, or service instances that exist independently of network functions can all be referred to as service instances.

[0120] It should be noted that the names of the above-mentioned network elements are only examples. In specific implementations, the names of the network elements may be other names. In addition, the above-mentioned "network element" may also be referred to as an entity, device, apparatus or module, etc. The above-mentioned network elements may be independent devices or different functions integrated in the same device. That is to say, in actual deployment, the above-mentioned multiple network elements may be integrated together as two functional units of one device.

[0121] The solution provided by the embodiments of the present application is described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0122] The communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application involves interaction between four communication devices, such as a first communication device, a second communication device, a third communication device, and a fourth communication device. For example, the first communication device is a reader, the second communication device is a terminal device (such as a passive IoT terminal), the third communication device is an operation requester (such as a server or AF), and the fourth communication device is a core network element (such as a tag management function (TMF) or an enhanced AMF).

[0123] The core network element can support a passive device (such as a tag) management function, which supports the management of various operations on the tag. The core network element can communicate directly with the operation requester, or communicate with the operation requester through other devices (such as NEF network elements). The core network element can operate the tag through a reader after receiving an operation request from the operation request method. The core network element can communicate with the UDM or authentication, authorization and accounting (AAA) server. For example, TMF can obtain information stored in the UDM or AAA server. The AAA server can be used to process user access requests, provide verification authorization and account services, manage user access to network servers, and provide services for users with access rights. In addition, the core network element can be used as an independent network element, or it can be co-located with other network elements. For example, taking the core network element as TMF as an example, TMF can be co-located with NEF, or co-located with AMF, so that NEF or AMF can implement the functions of TMF. TMF is only an exemplary name. Any device that can implement the functions corresponding to the TMF in this application can be understood as the TMF described in this application.

[0124] In the embodiments of the present application, enhanced AMF refers to an AMF with P-IoT function. For example, enhanced AMF has the following functions: supports tag access management to achieve management and control of new types of terminals; supports mobility management of terminals in a disconnected state; can identify passive IoT instructions (i.e., tag operations); has a filtering function to filter tag information belonging to non-enterprise users; supports tag data transmission, etc. Enhanced AMF is interchangeable with TMF.

[0125] In the embodiments of the present application, the steps performed by the reader may be implemented by the reader itself, or by components in the reader (such as a chip, a processing unit, or a processor module). The steps performed by the terminal device may be implemented by the terminal device itself, or by components in the terminal device (such as a chip, a processing unit, or a processor module). The terminal device may be Figure 2 The label shown, or Figure 2The chip (system) in the tag in the core network element. The steps performed by the core network element can be implemented by the core network element itself, or by a component (such as a chip, a processing unit, or a processor module) in the core network element. The steps performed by the operation requester can be implemented by the operation requester itself, or by a component (such as a chip, a processing unit, or a processor module) in the operation requester.

[0126] In the embodiments of the present application, "when", "if" and "if" all mean that the device will make corresponding processing under certain objective circumstances. They do not limit the time, nor do they require that the device must have a judgment action when it is implemented, nor do they mean that there are other limitations. "If" and "if" are interchangeable. Unless otherwise specified, "when" and "in the case of" are interchangeable. The steps indicated by dotted lines in the flowcharts involved in the embodiments of the present application are optional steps, that is, steps that may not be executed.

[0127] In the embodiment of the present application, when the operation requester needs to perform an operation on tag A, the core network element can decide whether tag A supports the operation to be performed based on the capability of tag A, thereby filtering out tags whose capabilities do not allow the operation to be performed, thereby saving signaling. Alternatively, when the operation requester needs to perform an operation on tag A, tag A decides whether to support the operation to be performed. When it is determined that tag A does not support the operation to be performed, it is reported to the core network element, and the transmission process for the operation instruction is no longer executed subsequently, thereby saving signaling.

[0128] See also Figure 3 , which is a flow chart of the first communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 3 The method 300 shown is applicable to Figure 2 The method 300 takes the example of a core network element determining whether a tag supports the executed operation according to the capability of the tag. Figure 3 The method is introduced from the perspective of interaction from the first communication device to the fourth communication device. And take the first communication device as a reader, the second communication device as a first passive IoT terminal, the third communication device as an operation requester, and the fourth communication device as a core network element as an example. Among them, the core network element can be a TMF network element or an enhanced AMF network element. The following takes the first passive IoT terminal as an example. Figure 3 As shown, the process of the first communication method includes the following steps.

[0129] S301: An operation requesting party sends a first request message, where the first request message is used to request to perform a first operation on a first tag.

[0130] The first operation may be any one or more of the tag operations mentioned above. For example, the first operation may be one or more of an inventory operation, a read operation, a write operation, a deactivation operation, an operation to obtain tag information, etc. The first tag is a tag to be subjected to the first operation, but the first operation may not be successfully performed. The first tag may be one tag or multiple tags, for example, the first tag is all tags located in a certain area.

[0131] When the operation requester needs to perform the first operation on the first tag, the operation requester may send one or more of the information of the operation requester, the information of the first tag, or the information of the first operation to the core network element. The information of the operation requester may include the user identifier of the operation requester. Accordingly, the above-mentioned first request message includes one or more of the following: information of the operation requester, information of the first tag, or information of the first operation. Among them, the information of the first tag includes identification information of the first tag (the identification information may include information of the operation requester), and the identification information of the first tag includes the tag identification of the first tag, for example, the identification information of the first tag includes the NID of the first tag. The information of the first operation includes information indicating the first operation and information related to the first operation. For example, the first operation is a write operation, and the information of the first operation may include a write operation and / or storage area information, and the storage area information indicates the storage area where the write operation is performed.

[0132] Alternatively, when the operation requester needs to perform the first operation on the first tag, the operation requester may send one or more of the information of the operation requester, the location information of the first tag, or the information of the first operation to the core network element. The location information of the first tag indicates the location area (e.g., the first area) where the first tag is located, or is understood as the location area where the enterprise requests the operation. Accordingly, the above-mentioned first request message may include one or more of the following: information of the operation requester, location information of the first tag, and information of the first operation. When the first request message includes the location information of the first tag, it may indicate that the operation requester needs to perform the first operation on all tags in the first area. Of course, the first request message may also include the location information of the first tag, the information of the first tag, and the information of the first operation, to indicate that the operation requester needs to perform the first operation on the first tag in the first area. The information of the first tag includes identification information of the first tag. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the first area. For example, the first area may be a cell, and accordingly, the information of the first area may be identification information of the cell; for another example, the first area may be an area managed by the operation requester (such as a campus of an enterprise), and accordingly, the first area may be information of the first area registered by the enterprise; for another example, the first area may be a geographical location, and accordingly, the information of the first area may be location information of the first area, such as coordinate values, longitude and latitude, etc.

[0133] Alternatively, when the operation requester needs to perform a first operation on a first tag, the operation requester only sends the information of the operation requester, such as an AF identifier, to the core network element. Accordingly, the above-mentioned first request message only includes the information of the operation requester, for example, the first request message includes the identification information of the operation requester. In this case, the core network element receives the first request message and can query the contract data of the operation requester to determine the information of the tag corresponding to the location area signed by the operation requester, and the information of the tag includes the operation information supported by the tag. The core network element can determine the location areas corresponding to at least one operation according to the contract data of the operation requester. For any operation, the core network element can request to perform the operation on all tags in the location area corresponding to the operation.

[0134] Optionally, the core network network element can also determine whether the operation requester has the execution authority for the first operation based on the contract data of the operation requester. For example, as shown in Table 1, the contract data of the enterprise is stored with the identifier of the tag as the index, and the core network network element can determine whether a corresponding enterprise has the authority to perform a certain operation on the tag based on the tag index. For another example, as shown in Table 2, the contract data of the enterprise is indexed with the identifier of the enterprise, and the core network network element can determine whether the enterprise has the authority to perform a certain operation on a certain tag based on the identifier of the enterprise. If the core network network element determines that the operation requester has the execution authority for the first operation, it can request to perform the first operation on all tags in the location area corresponding to the first operation; if the core network network element determines that the operation requester does not have the execution authority for the first operation, it can feedback to the operation requester that the first operation failed, or the core network network element does not perform any operation.

[0135] The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific name of the first request message. For example, the first request message can be called a request operation message.

[0136] S302. The core network element determines whether the first tag supports the first operation.

[0137] It is understandable that tags with different capabilities can support different operations. For example, tag 1 can support inventory operations and read operations, but not write operations, and tag 2 can support inventory operations and write operations, but not read operations. And as the capabilities of tags change, the operations that can be supported will also change. Therefore, the first tag may not support the first operation. When the first tag does not support the first operation, if the core network network element defaults to all tags in the location area corresponding to the first operation, it will cause a waste of signaling. Moreover, if the core network network element transmits instructions about the first operation to the first tag by default, it will also cause a waste of signaling.

[0138] To this end, in an embodiment of the present application, after receiving the first request message, the core network element can determine whether the first tag supports the first operation. If the first tag does not support the first operation, the core network element does not need to page the first tag or send instructions about the first operation to the first tag, thereby saving signaling overhead.

[0139] As shown in Table 3, different capability tags may support different operations, so the core network element may obtain the capability information of the first tag and determine whether the first tag supports the first operation according to the capability information of the first tag. It can be understood that the capability information of the first tag may indicate the operations supported by the first tag. If the first operation belongs to the operation indicated by the capability information of the first tag, then the core network element determines that the first tag supports the first operation. If the first operation does not belong to the operation indicated by the capability information of the first tag, then the core network element determines that the first tag does not support the first operation.

[0140] Combine the following Figure 4 S302 is introduced in detail. Figure 4 An implementation manner of S302 is shown.

[0141] S3021. The core network element sends first indication information to the reader, where the first indication information may be used to indicate reporting capability information of the first tag.

[0142] The first indication information may indicate reporting capability information of the first tag. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific name of the first indication information, for example, the first indication information may be called capability reporting indication. When the core network element needs to obtain capability information of the first tag, the first indication information may be sent to the reader.

[0143] In some embodiments, such as when the reader is a base station, the first indication information can be carried in an N2 message. The core network element sends the first indication information to the reader, that is, the core network element sends an N2 message to the reader, and the N2 message includes the first indication information. The core network element sends the N2 message, so that the reader that receives the N2 message can instruct multiple tags to report their respective capability information respectively, which can save signaling. For example, the reader can carry the first indication information in a select message or a paging broadcast, so as to forward the first indication information to the tag; for another example, the reader can forward the first indication information to the tag in a random access process.

[0144] In some embodiments, such as when the reader is a UE, the first indication information can be carried in an N2 message and sent by the core network element to the base station, and then sent to the reader UE through the base station, or sent by the core network element to the reader UE through a NAS message. The reader UE can subsequently broadcast the first indication information, so that the tags that receive the first indication information can report the corresponding capability information to the reader / core network element.

[0145] Optionally, the first indication information may be carried in a NAS message in the N2 message. In this case, the reader forwards the NAS message to the first tag after the tag random access is completed. Before the first tag accesses the network, the reader may store the NAS message containing the first indication information.

[0146] S3022: The first tag executes a process of accessing the network.

[0147] The first tag can be randomly connected to the reader, for example, the reader and the first tag perform the following Figure 2 It should be noted that the embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific manner in which the first tag accesses the reader.

[0148] S3023. The first tag sends capability information of the first tag to a core network element.

[0149] After the first tag accesses the reader, the capability information of the first tag (for example, referred to as the first capability information) is sent to the core network element according to the first indication information. The first capability information may be carried in a NAS message. The NAS message, for example, includes a registration request (Registration Request) or an uplink NAS transmission (UL NAS transport), etc. The first tag may first send the first capability information to the reader, and then the reader forwards the first capability information to the core network element. The first capability information may be carried in a NAS message sent by the first tag to the reader, that is, the NAS message includes the first capability information. The first capability information and the identifier of the first tag may be sent together, so that the core network element determines that the received first capability information is the capability information of the first tag.

[0150] The first capability information may indicate operations supported by the first tag, and the operations supported by the first tag may be one or more. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific implementation of the first capability information.

[0151] As an example, the first capability information includes information about operations supported by the first tag. For example, different operations correspond to different operation types, and the information about operations supported by the first tag may be the operation type.

[0152] As another example, the first capability information includes a tag type of the first tag. The tag type of the first tag has a mapping relationship with the operations supported by the first tag, as shown in the aforementioned Table 3. The tag type may include an active type, a semi-active type, a semi-passive type, and a passive type, etc. The tag type may characterize the capability of the tag, thereby indirectly indicating the operations supported by the tag.

[0153] Optionally, the first capability information may include information about the tag type of the first tag and operations supported by the first tag.

[0154] Optionally, the first capability information may also include identification information of the first tag.

[0155] Optionally, the core network element may also store the first capability information in the context of the first tag, so that the core network element can obtain the capability information of the first tag by querying the context of the first tag. The core network element may also store the first capability information in the data management element, so that the core network element can obtain the capability information of the first tag by querying the data management element. In this way, there is no need to request the first tag to report the capability information through the reader every time, thereby further saving signaling overhead.

[0156] S3024. The core network element determines whether the first tag supports the first operation according to the first capability information.

[0157] The core network element receives the capability information of the first tag (i.e., the first capability information), and can determine whether the first tag supports the first operation according to the first capability information. If the first operation belongs to the operation corresponding to the capability information of the first tag, the core network element determines that the first tag supports the first operation. If the first operation does not belong to the operation corresponding to the first capability information, the core network element determines that the first tag does not support the first operation.

[0158] Depending on whether the first identifier supports the first operation, the subsequent process is also different, and is introduced below in different cases.

[0159] In case 1, the first tag supports the first operation, and the subsequent process may include the following S303a-S305a.

[0160] S303a. If the core network element determines that the first tag supports the first operation, the core network element sends operation information to the first tag, where the operation information includes an identifier of the first tag and information about the first operation.

[0161] The information of the first operation includes information indicating the first operation and / or information related to the first operation. For example, the first operation is a write operation, and the information of the first operation may include the write operation and storage area information, and the storage area information indicates the storage area where the write operation is performed. If the first tag supports the first operation, the core network network element may send operation information (also called operation instructions) for the first tag to the reader, and the reader forwards the operation information to the first tag. The operation information includes the identifier of the first tag and the information of the first operation. The operation information can be carried in a NAS message, that is, the core network network element sends the operation information to the first tag by sending a NAS message to the first tag by the core network network element, and the NAS message includes the operation information. The first tag receives the operation information, determines that the operation information is the first operation for the first tag, and then performs the first operation.

[0162] Further, when the first tag executes the first operation successfully, an indication of successful operation may be fed back to the core network element, so that the core network element feeds back an indication of successful operation to the operation requester.

[0163] like Figure 4 In S304a, the first tag may send a first message to a core network element through a reader, and the first message includes data information of the first tag. For example, the first operation is a read operation, and the first message includes information read from the first tag. For another example, the first operation is a positioning operation, and the first message includes data for positioning the first tag. Optionally, the first message may also include second indication information and / or tag identification information, and the second indication information is used to indicate that the first operation is successfully performed. For example, the first operation is a write operation, and the first message may include second indication information, and the second indication information indicates that the first tag is written successfully.

[0164] S305a. The core network element sends third indication information to the operation requester, where the third indication information is used to indicate that the first operation is successfully performed.

[0165] In case 2, the first tag does not support the first operation, and the subsequent process may include S306b.

[0166] S303b. If the core network element determines that the first tag does not support the first operation, the core network element sends second information to the operation requester, where the second information includes an identifier of the first tag and fourth indication information, where the fourth indication information is used to indicate that the first operation for the first tag has failed.

[0167] When the core network element determines that the first tag does not support the first operation, the core network element will not page the first tag, nor will it send an instruction for the first operation to the first tag, thereby reducing unnecessary signaling overhead. Here, the instruction not to send the first operation to the first tag can be replaced by an instruction to refuse / forbid sending the first operation to the first tag.

[0168] Optionally, the core network element sends a second message to the operation requester, the second message including the identifier of the first tag and fourth indication information, the fourth indication information being used to indicate that the first operation for the first tag failed. Based on the second message, the operation requester can make it clear that the first tag does not support the first operation, so that the operation for the first tag may not be requested subsequently to avoid wasting messages. S303b is an optional step and may not be executed, so in Figure 3 Indicated by dotted line.

[0169] It can be understood that S303a-S305a and S303b are executed selectively, that is, S303a-S305a are executed and S303b is not executed; S303b is executed and S303a-S305a is not executed.

[0170] It should be noted that whether S301 is executed does not affect whether the core network element obtains the capability information of the first tag. For example, the core network element may periodically obtain the capability information of the first tag. For example, the core network element may subscribe to the capability information of the first tag from the reader, and the reader may periodically enable the first tag to report its own capability information.

[0171] In method 300, the core network element determines whether the tag supports one or more operations to be executed according to the tag's capabilities, thereby filtering out tags whose capabilities do not allow the operation to be performed, thereby saving signaling. For example, when a tag does not support a certain operation, the tag will not be paged, and instructions for the operation will not be sent to the tag, thereby reducing unnecessary signaling overhead.

[0172] See also Figure 5 , which is a flow chart of the second communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 5 The method 500 shown is applicable to Figure 2 The method 500 takes the example of the tag itself deciding whether to support the executed operation. Figure 5 The method is introduced from the perspective of interaction between the first communication device and the fourth communication device. The first communication device is a reader, the second communication device is a first tag, the third communication device is an operation requester, and the fourth communication device is a core network element. The core network element can be a TMF network element or an enhanced AMF network element. In method 500, the first tag determines whether to support the first operation during access to the network. Figure 5As shown, the process of the second communication method includes the following steps.

[0173] S501. An operation requester sends a first request message to a core network element. The first request message is used to request to perform a first operation on a first tag.

[0174] For the specific implementation of S501, please refer to the relevant content of S301 mentioned above, which will not be repeated here.

[0175] S502: The core network element sends instruction information and filtering information of the first operation to the reader.

[0176] The indication information of the first operation is information indicating the first operation. The core network element receives the first request message and can send the indication information of the first operation and the filtering information to the reader, wherein the filtering information is used to filter the tags that meet the conditions. For example, the condition can be a tag range, and the tag range can be the user range to which the tag belongs, or the network range to which the tag is contracted, or the tag identification range. The tag range is the tag identification range, for example, the tag range indicated by the filtering information is tag 1-tag 100.

[0177] It should be noted that the above-mentioned tag range is only an example, and the embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific implementation form of the tag range. The filtering information may include one or more tag ranges as above. The filtering information may be called a filter or a mask. The indication of the first operation may be included in the filtering information / mask. Optionally, the filtering information may also be a default value.

[0178] Similar to the aforementioned S3021, the indication information of the first operation can be carried in the N2 message. The core network element sends the indication information of the first operation to the reader, that is, the core network element sends the N2 message to the reader, and the N2 message includes the indication information of the first operation. Alternatively, the first indication information can be carried in a NAS message in the N2 message. In this case, after the first tag accesses the network, the reader sends a NAS message including the indication information of the first operation to the first tag. Before the first tag accesses the network, the reader can store the NAS message.

[0179] S503: The reader sends a select message.

[0180] The selection message includes indication information of the first operation and filtering information.

[0181] S504: The first tag determines whether to support the first operation.

[0182] In addition to determining whether the tag is within the tag range indicated by the selection message, the tag that receives the selection message also determines whether its own capability matches the first operation, that is, determines whether it supports the first operation. Alternatively, each tag within the tag range indicated by the selection message determines whether it supports the first operation based on its own capability. Alternatively, the selection message includes a user identifier, and the tag with the user identifier determines whether it supports the first operation based on its own capability.

[0183] The first tag can store its own capability information, and the capability information corresponds to the operations supported by the first tag. If the first operation belongs to the operations supported by the first tag, then the first tag determines to support the first operation; if the first operation does not belong to the operations supported by the first tag, then the first tag determines not to support the first operation.

[0184] Alternatively, the capability information of the first tag includes the tag type of the first tag, and the first tag stores the tag type of the first tag. The tag type of the first tag has a mapping relationship with the operations supported by the first tag, as shown in the aforementioned Table 3. The tag type may include an active type, a semi-active type, a semi-passive type, and a passive type, etc. The tag type may characterize the capability of the tag, thereby indirectly indicating the operations supported by the tag. The first tag may determine the operations supported by the first tag according to the tag type of the first tag, thereby determining whether the first operation is supported.

[0185] Depending on whether the first tag supports the first operation, the subsequent process is different, which is introduced below in different cases.

[0186] Case 1: The first tag does not support the first operation, and the first tag will not respond to the random access process, that is, the first tag does not support the first operation, and the first tag refuses random access. Figure 2 Taking S203 accessing the network as an example, the subsequent process may include S505a-S507a.

[0187] S505a: The reader sends a query message.

[0188] If the first tag does not support the first operation, when the first tag monitors the query message, it refuses to respond to the query message, or does not respond to the query message, so that the first tag will not be connected to the reader. Subsequently, the reader will not send the first operation instruction to the first tag, thereby reducing unnecessary signaling overhead.

[0189] S506a. The core network element sends second information to the operation requester, where the second information includes an identifier of the first tag and fourth indication information, where the fourth indication information is used to indicate that the first operation for the first tag has failed.

[0190] The core network element determines that it will not page the first tag or send a first operation instruction to the first tag according to the second information, thereby reducing unnecessary signaling overhead. It should be noted that S506a is an optional step. Figure 5 It is indicated by a dotted line.

[0191] Case 2: The first tag supports the first operation. The first tag can perform the following operations: Figure 1 S1032 and S1033 ( Figure 5 (not shown), the subsequent process may include the following S505b-S508b.

[0192] S505b: If the first tag supports the first operation, the first tag sends feedback information to the core network element, and the feedback information may indicate that the first tag supports the first operation.

[0193] If the first tag supports the first operation, the core network element can be informed, so that the core network element can clearly determine whether to send information about performing the first operation to the first tag. For example, the first tag can send second information to the reader, and the reader sends the second information to the core network element, and the second information can indicate that the first tag supports the first operation.

[0194] S506b. The core network element sends operation information to the first tag, where the operation information includes an identifier of the first tag and information about the first operation.

[0195] The core network element may send the operation information for the first tag to the reader, and the reader sends the operation information to the first tag. For S506b, reference may be made to the relevant contents of S303a above, which will not be repeated here.

[0196] S507b. The first tag sends the first information to the core network element.

[0197] The first information includes data information of the first tag and an identifier of the first tag. The first tag can send the first information to the reader, and the reader sends the first information to the core network element. For S507b, reference can be made to the relevant contents of S304a above, which will not be repeated here.

[0198] S508b. The core network element sends third indication information to the operation requester, where the third indication information is used to indicate that the first operation is successfully performed.

[0199] For S508b, please refer to the relevant content of S305a mentioned above, which will not be repeated here.

[0200] It can be understood that either 505a-S507a or S505b-S508b is executed, that is, 505a-S507a is executed but S505b-S508b is not executed; or S505b-S508b is executed but 505a-S507a is not executed.

[0201] It should be noted that method 500 uses the first tag according to Figure 1 Taking S102-S103 accessing the reader in the example, the embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific implementation method of the first tag accessing the reader. For example, the first tag can also access the reader based on the paging process and the random access process. When the first tag accesses the reader based on paging, the reader sends a paging message, and the paging message includes the indication information and filtering information of the first operation; when the first tag receives the paging message and determines that the conditions indicated by the filtering information are met, but does not support the first operation, the first tag does not execute the subsequent random access process.

[0202] In method 500, the first tag decides whether to support one or more operations to be executed based on its own capabilities, and feeds back the result to the core network element. When a tag does not support a certain operation, the core network element will not page the tag or send instructions for the operation to the tag, thereby reducing unnecessary signaling overhead.

[0203] As an alternative to method 500, see Figure 6 , shows the process of a method 600 that replaces method 500. Figure 6 and Figure 5 The difference is that the indication information of the first operation is carried in the NAS message. After accessing the network, the first tag can determine whether to support the first operation according to the capability information stored in itself. Figure 6 As shown, the process of method 600 is as follows.

[0204] S601. An operation requesting party sends a first request message to a core network element. The first request message is used to request to perform a first operation on a first tag.

[0205] S602. The core network element sends instruction information and filtering information of the first operation to the reader.

[0206] S603: Process of the first tag accessing the network.

[0207] For example, S603 includes S6031 to S6034, and the details can be referred to above. Figure 1 Alternatively, as mentioned above, S603 may be a process in which the reader pages the first tag and the first tag randomly accesses the network.

[0208] S604: The reader sends indication information of a first operation to the first tag, where the indication information of the first operation is carried in a NAS message.

[0209] S605: The first tag determines whether to support the first operation.

[0210] The specific implementation of S605 may refer to the relevant content of S504 mentioned above, which will not be repeated here.

[0211] Depending on whether the first tag supports the first operation, the subsequent process is also different. For example, for case 1, the first tag does not support the first operation, and the subsequent process may include S606a-S607a, and specific reference may be made to S506a. For case 2, the first tag supports the first operation, and the subsequent process may include S606b-S609b, and specific reference may be made to S505b-S508b.

[0212] Considering that the capabilities of the tag may change, for example, the original state of the tag is active. When the battery power of the tag is low, the tag may become a semi-active tag or even a passive tag. When the capabilities of the tag change, the operations supported by the tag may also change. For enterprises and core networks, they only know the initial capabilities of the tag (that is, they know the operations initially supported by the tag). If the operation requester performs operations on the tag according to the initial capability request of the tag by default, once the capabilities of the tag change, unnecessary signaling overhead may be caused. For example, after the capabilities of the tag change, the tag does not support the operation requested by the operation requester, and it is unnecessary for the core network to still page the tag.

[0213] To this end, the embodiment of the present application provides a third communication method. In this method, when the tag determines that its own capabilities have changed, it notifies the core network element, so that the core network element can know the latest capabilities of the tag, and then will not send paging and operation instructions to tags that do not support certain operations, thereby saving signaling overhead.

[0214] See also Figure 7 , which is a flow chart of the third communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 7 The method 700 shown is applicable to Figure 2 The method 700 takes the example of the tag itself deciding whether to support the executed operation. Figure 7 The method is introduced from the perspective of interaction between the first communication device and the fourth communication device. The first communication device is a reader, the second communication device is a first tag, the third communication device is an operation requester, and the fourth communication device is a core network element. The core network element can be a TMF network element or an enhanced AMF network element. Figure 7 As shown, the process of the third communication method includes the following steps. Figure 7The process shown takes the capability of the first tag to report updates as an example.

[0215] S701. A first tag sends second capability information of the first tag to a reader, where the second capability information is capability information after the capability of the first tag is changed.

[0216] The first tag determines that its own capability has changed, and can send the changed capability information (e.g., called second capability information) to the reader. The embodiments of the present application do not limit how the first tag determines that its own capability has changed. For example, the first tag can monitor its own power, and when the power is lower than a certain threshold, it can be considered that the capability of the first tag has changed.

[0217] The second capability information of the first tag may indicate the operation most recently supported by the first tag. For example, the second capability information may include the operation most recently supported by the first tag, or the second capability information may include the most recently supported tag type of the first tag. Optionally, when the first tag does not support any operation, the first tag may be considered unavailable. Accordingly, the second capability information may indicate that the first tag is unavailable.

[0218] Alternatively, the first tag may also periodically send capability information to the reader, that is, regardless of whether the capability of the first tag changes, the first tag will periodically send capability information to the reader. For example, the core network element may subscribe to the capability information of the first tag from the reader, and the reader may periodically enable the first tag to report its own capability information. For another example, the core network element may send a periodic timer to the reader to instruct the first tag to periodically report its own capability information.

[0219] S702. The reader sends the second capability information of the first tag to a core network element.

[0220] After receiving the second capability information, the reader forwards the second capability information to the core network element.

[0221] S703. The core network element saves the second capability information.

[0222] The core network network element receives the second capability information and can save the second capability information so as to subsequently determine whether to perform an operation on the first tag based on the second capability information. In some embodiments, the core network network element can update the second capability information to the context of the first tag, that is, replace the first capability information with the second capability information. When the operation requester needs to perform a first operation on the first tag, the core network network element can query the context of the first tag and determine whether the first tag supports the first operation based on the second capability information. In other embodiments, the core network network element can update the second capability information to the data management network element, that is, replace the first capability information with the second capability information. When the operation requester needs to perform a first operation on the first tag, the core network network element can query the data management network element and determine whether the first tag supports the first operation based on the second capability information.

[0223] S704: The operation requester sends a first request message to the core network element, where the first request message is used to request to perform a first operation on the first tag. For details, please refer to S301, which will not be described here.

[0224] S705. The core network element determines whether the first tag supports the first operation.

[0225] The core network element may query the context of the first tag to determine whether the first tag supports the first operation according to the second capability information in the context of the first tag.

[0226] If the first tag supports the first operation, the subsequent process may include the following S706a-S708a; if the first tag supports the first operation, the subsequent process may include the following S706b.

[0227] S706a. If the core network element determines that the first tag supports the first operation, the core network element sends operation information to the first tag, where the operation information includes an identifier of the first tag and information about the first operation.

[0228] S707a. The first tag sends the first information to the core network element.

[0229] S708a. The core network element sends third indication information to the operation requester, where the third indication information is used to indicate that the first operation is successfully performed.

[0230] S706b. If the core network element determines that the first tag does not support the first operation, the core network element sends a second message to the operation requester, where the second message includes an identifier of the first tag and fourth indication information, where the fourth indication information is used to indicate that the first operation for the first tag fails. S706b is an optional step and may not be performed. Figure 7 Indicated by dotted line.

[0231] It can be understood that S706a-S708a and S706b are executed selectively, that is, S706a-S708a are executed and S706b is not executed; S706b is executed and S706a-S708a is not executed.

[0232] In method 700, when a tag determines that its own capabilities have changed, it notifies the core network element so that the core network element can know the latest capabilities of the tag and will not send paging and operation instructions to tags that do not support certain operations, thereby saving signaling overhead.

[0233] It should be noted that the above Figure 3 and Figure 7 The processes can be combined with each other. Figure 5 and Figure 7 The processes can also be combined with each other. Figure 6 and Figure 7 The processes may also be combined with each other. The first tag may maintain changes in its own capabilities. When the capabilities of the first tag change, the first tag may execute S701.

[0234] In the embodiments of the present application, "system" and "network" can be used interchangeably. "Multiple" refers to two or more. In view of this, in the embodiments of the present application, "multiple" can also be understood as "at least two". "At least one" can be one or more, for example, at least one is one, two or more. For example, including at least one means including one, two or more, and there is no limit on which ones are included. For example, including at least one of A, B and C, then A, B, C, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C can be included. Similarly, the understanding of descriptions such as "at least one" is also similar. "At least one of the following" 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 and C" includes A, B, C, AB, AC, BC or ABC. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. 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 “ / ”, unless otherwise specified, generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an “or” relationship.

[0235] Unless otherwise specified, the ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" mentioned in the embodiments of the present application are used to distinguish multiple objects, and are not used to limit the order, timing, priority or importance of multiple objects, and the description of "first" and "second" does not necessarily limit the objects to be different. For example, the first capability information and the second capability information represent two capability information, and do not limit the priority or importance of the two capability information.

[0236] In the above-mentioned embodiments provided by the present application, the method provided by the embodiments of the present application is introduced from the perspective of the interaction between the first tag, the core network element, the reader and the operation requester. In order to realize the various functions in the method provided by the above-mentioned embodiments of the present application, the first tag / first passive IoT terminal, the core network element, the reader and the operation requester may include a hardware structure and / or a software module, and the above-mentioned functions are realized in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module. Whether one of the above-mentioned functions is executed in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0237] The following describes the communication device used to implement the above method in the embodiment of the present application in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Therefore, the above contents can be used in subsequent embodiments, and repeated contents will not be repeated.

[0238] Figure 8 A schematic block diagram of a communication device 800 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 800 can correspond to the functions or steps implemented by the core network element, the reader, the first tag / first passive IoT terminal or the operation requester in any of the above-mentioned method embodiments. The communication device may include a processing module 810 and a transceiver module 820. Optionally, the communication device 800 may also include a storage module, which can be used to store instructions (codes or programs) and / or data. The processing module 810 and the transceiver module 820 can be coupled to the storage module. For example, the processing module 810 can read the instructions (codes or programs) and / or data in the storage module to implement the corresponding method. The above-mentioned modules can be set independently or partially or fully integrated.

[0239] It should be understood that the processing module 810 can be a processor or a controller, for example, a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processing (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components or any combination thereof. It can implement or execute various exemplary logic blocks, modules and circuits described in conjunction with the disclosure of the present application. The processor can also be a combination that implements a computing function, for example, including a combination of one or more microprocessors, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, and the like. The transceiver module 820 is an interface circuit of the device for receiving signals from other devices. For example, when the device is implemented in the form of a chip, the transceiver module 820 is an interface circuit of the chip for receiving signals from other chips or devices, or an interface circuit of the chip for sending signals to other chips or devices.

[0240] In some possible implementations, the communication device 800 can implement the behaviors and functions of the core network element in the above method embodiments. For example, the communication device 800 can be an AMF network element or a TMF network element, or a component (such as a chip or circuit) applied to an AMF network element or a TMF network element. The transceiver module 820 can be used to perform Figure 3-Figure 7 The processing module 810 is used to perform all receiving or sending operations performed by the core network element in the embodiment shown in one or more figures. Figure 3-Figure 7 All operations except sending and receiving operations performed by the core network elements in the embodiments shown in one or more figures.

[0241] As an example, the transceiver module 820 is used to receive a first request message sent by an operation requester, and the first request message is used to request to perform a first operation on the first passive Internet of Things terminal; the processing module 810 is used to determine whether the first passive Internet of Things terminal supports the first operation, and when it is determined that the first passive Internet of Things terminal does not support the first operation, refuse to send an instruction for the first operation to the first passive Internet of Things terminal.

[0242] As an optional implementation method, the processing module 810 is specifically used to: obtain first capability information of the first passive Internet of Things terminal, the first capability information corresponding to the operation supported by the first passive Internet of Things terminal; if the first operation belongs to the operation corresponding to the first capability information, determine that the first passive Internet of Things terminal supports the first operation.

[0243] As an optional implementation manner, the transceiver module 820 is further used to send first indication information to the reader, where the first indication information is used to instruct the first passive Internet of Things terminal to report capability information of the first passive Internet of Things terminal.

[0244] As an optional implementation method, the first indication information is carried in the N2 message.

[0245] As an optional implementation, the processing module 810 is specifically configured to:

[0246] The stored context of the first passive IoT terminal is queried, where the context of the first passive IoT terminal includes the first capability information of the first passive IoT terminal; or the first capability information of the first passive IoT terminal is obtained from a data management network element.

[0247] As an optional implementation, the transceiver module 820 is further used to: receive second capability information of the first passive IoT terminal, where the second capability information is capability information after the capability of the first passive IoT terminal changes. The processing module 810 is further used to store the second capability information.

[0248] As an optional implementation method, the first capability information of the first passive Internet of Things terminal or the second capability information of the first passive Internet of Things terminal includes an identifier of the first passive Internet of Things terminal and the following information: information about operations supported by the first passive Internet of Things terminal, and / or the type of the first passive Internet of Things terminal; the type of the first passive Internet of Things terminal has a mapping relationship with the operations supported by the first passive Internet of Things terminal.

[0249] In some possible implementations, the communication device 800 can implement the behaviors and functions of the reader in the above method embodiments. For example, the communication device 800 can be a reader, or a component (such as a chip or circuit) used in a reader. The transceiver module 820 can be used to perform Figure 3-Figure 7 The processing module 810 is used to perform all receiving or sending operations performed by the reader in the embodiment shown in one or more figures. Figure 3-Figure 7 All operations except sending and receiving operations performed by the reader in the embodiments shown in one or more figures.

[0250] For example, the transceiver module 820 is used to receive the first indication information sent by the core network network element, and to send the first indication information to the first passive Internet of Things terminal, where the first indication information is used to instruct the first passive Internet of Things terminal to report the first capability information of the first passive Internet of Things terminal, and the first capability information corresponds to the operations supported by the first passive Internet of Things terminal.

[0251] As an optional implementation method, the transceiver module 820 is also used to: receive second capability information sent by the first passive Internet of Things terminal, the second capability information being the capability information after the capability of the first passive Internet of Things terminal has changed; and send the second capability information to the core network network element.

[0252] In some possible implementations, the communication device 800 can implement the behaviors and functions of the core network elements in the above method embodiments. For example, the communication device 800 can be a passive IoT terminal, or a component (such as a chip or circuit) used in a passive IoT terminal. The transceiver module 820 can be used to execute Figure 3-Figure 7 The processing module 810 is used to perform all receiving or sending operations performed by the first tag in the embodiment shown in one or more figures. Figure 3-Figure 7 All operations except sending and receiving operations performed by the first tag in the embodiments shown in one or more figures.

[0253] As example 1, the transceiver module 820 is used to receive the first indication information sent by the reader, and send the first capability information to the reader, where the first indication information is used to instruct the communication device 800 to report the first capability information of the communication device 800, and the first capability information corresponds to the operation supported by the communication device 800.

[0254] As an optional implementation, the transceiver module 820 is further used to: send second capability information to the reader, where the second capability information is capability information after the capability of the communication device 800 has changed.

[0255] As example 2, the transceiver module 820 is used to receive the indication information and filtering information of the first operation from the reader, the first operation is an operation that needs to be performed on the communication device 800, and the filtering information is used to screen the passive IoT terminals that meet the conditions. The processing module 810 is used to determine that the communication device 800 meets the conditions indicated by the filtering information, and the communication device 800 does not support the first operation, and reject random access.

[0256] As Example 3, the transceiver module 820 is used to receive indication information of a first operation from the reader, where the first operation is an operation that needs to be performed on the communication device 800. The processing module 810 is used to determine that the first operation is not supported, and send first information to the core network element, where the first information is used to indicate that the communication device 800 does not support the first operation.

[0257] As an optional method of Example 2 or Example 3, the capability information of the communication device 800 includes: information on operations supported by the communication device 800; or, the type of the communication device 800, wherein the type of the communication device 800 has a mapping relationship with the operations supported by the communication device 800.

[0258] As an optional manner of Example 2 or Example 3, the transceiver module 820 is further used to: send second capability information to the reader, where the second capability information is capability information after the capability of the communication device 800 has changed.

[0259] As an optional manner of Example 2 or Example 3, the indication information of the first operation is carried in an N2 message, or the indication information of the first operation is carried in a non-access stratum NAS message in the N2 message.

[0260] It should be understood that the processing unit 810 in the embodiment of the present application can be implemented by a processor or a processor-related circuit component, and the transceiver unit 820 can be implemented by a transceiver or a transceiver-related circuit component or a communication interface.

[0261] Based on the same concept, Fig. 9 As shown, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device 900. The communication device 900 includes a processor 910. Optionally, the communication device 900 may also include a memory 920 for storing instructions executed by the processor 910 or storing input data required by the processor 910 to execute instructions or storing data generated after the processor 910 executes instructions. The processor 910 can implement the method shown in the above method embodiment through the instructions stored in the memory 920.

[0262] The memory 920 may be a storage unit of a chip within the communication device 900, such as a register, a cache, etc. The storage unit may also be a storage unit within the communication device 900 that is located outside the chip, such as a read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static storage devices that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM), etc.

[0263] Optionally, the memory 920 may be located inside or outside the device. The processor 910 is coupled to the memory 920. The coupling in the embodiment of the present application is an indirect coupling or communication connection between devices, units or modules, which may be electrical, mechanical or other forms, and is used for information exchange between devices, units or modules. The processor 910 may operate in coordination with the memory 920.

[0264] The communication device 900 may be a chip or a chip system. Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, the chip system may be composed of a chip, or may include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0265] Since the communication device 900 provided in this embodiment can be applied to a core network element, a reader, a first tag / a first passive IoT terminal, and completes the method performed by the core network element, the reader, and the first tag / a first passive IoT terminal, the technical effects that can be obtained can refer to the above method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0266] Based on the above embodiments, see Fig.10 , the embodiment of the present application also provides another communication device 1000, including: an input-output interface 1010 and a logic circuit 1020; the input-output interface 1010 is used to receive code instructions and transmit them to the logic circuit 1020; the logic circuit 1020 is used to run code instructions to execute the method executed by the core network element, reader, first tag / first passive IoT terminal in any of the above embodiments. Since the communication device 1000 provided in this embodiment can be applied to the core network element, reader, first tag / first passive IoT terminal, it completes the method executed by the core network element, reader, first tag / first passive IoT terminal. Therefore, the technical effect that can be obtained can refer to the above method embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0267] The present application also provides a communication system. Specifically, the communication system includes at least one core network element, at least one reader, and at least one passive IoT terminal. Figure 3-Figure 7 One or more core network elements of the graph-related functions, used to implement the above Figure 3-Figure 7 A passive IoT terminal having one or more functions related to the above diagram and a method for realizing the above Figure 3-Figure 7 For details, please refer to the relevant description in the above method embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0268] The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium including instructions, which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to execute Figure 3-Figure 7 The method is performed by one or more of the core network elements, the reader, the first tag / the first passive IoT terminal in the figure.

[0269] The present application also provides a computer program product, including instructions, which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to execute Figure 3-Figure 7 The method is performed by one or more of the core network elements, the reader, the first tag / the first passive IoT terminal in the figure.

[0270] The embodiment of the present application provides a chip system, which includes a processor and may also include a memory, for implementing the functions of the core network element, the reader, and the first tag / first passive IoT terminal in the aforementioned method. The chip system may be composed of a chip, or may include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0271] In order to achieve the above Figure 8 to Figure 10 In order to realize the functions of the communication device, the embodiment of the present application further provides a chip, including a processor, for supporting the communication device to realize the functions involved in the terminal device or the first network device or the second network device in the above method embodiment. In one possible design, the chip is connected to a memory or the chip includes a memory, and the memory is used to store the computer programs or instructions and data necessary for the communication device.

[0272] 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.

[0273] In the embodiments of the present application, the number of nouns, unless otherwise specified, means "singular noun or plural noun", that is, "one or more". "Multiple" means two or more. In view of this, in the embodiments of the present application, "multiple" can also be understood as "at least two". "At least one" can be one or more, for example, at least one is one, two or more. For example, including at least one means including one, two or more, and there is no limit on which ones are included. For example, including at least one of A, B and C, then A, B, C, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C can be included. Similarly, the understanding of descriptions such as "at least one" is also similar. "At least one of the following" 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 and C" includes A, B, C, AB, AC, BC or ABC. "And / or" describes the relationship between the associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. In addition, the character " / ", unless otherwise specified, generally means that the associated objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0274] Unless otherwise specified, the ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" mentioned in the embodiments of the present application are used to distinguish multiple objects, and are not used to limit the order, timing, priority or importance of multiple objects, and the description of "first" and "second" does not necessarily limit the objects to be different. For example, the first capability information and the second capability information represent two capability information, and do not limit the priority or importance of the two capability information.

[0275] Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks and steps described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or in a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel may use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0276] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0277] In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are only schematic. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation, such as 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.

[0278] 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.

[0279] If the functions are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the part of the technical solution of the present application that contributes essentially or the part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for a computer device (which can be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to perform all or part of the steps of the methods described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: various media that can store program codes, such as USB flash drives, mobile hard drives, ROM, RAM, magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0280] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to the present application without departing from the scope of the present application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is also intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: include: The core network element receives a first request message sent by an operation requester, where the first request message is used to request to perform a first operation on a first passive IoT terminal; The core network element determines whether the first passive IoT terminal supports the first operation; If the core network element determines that the first passive IoT terminal does not support the first operation, the core network element refuses to send an instruction for the first operation to the first passive IoT terminal.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The core network element determines whether the first passive IoT terminal supports the first operation, including: The core network element acquires, by the core network element, first capability information of the first passive IoT terminal, where the first capability information corresponds to an operation supported by the first passive IoT terminal; If the first operation belongs to the operation corresponding to the first capability information, the core network element determines that the first passive IoT terminal supports the first operation.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that Before the core network element obtains the first capability information of the first passive IoT terminal, the method further includes: The core network element sends first indication information to the reader, where the first indication information is used to instruct the first passive Internet of Things terminal to report capability information of the first passive Internet of Things terminal.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The first indication information is carried in the N2 message.

5. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The core network element obtains first capability information of the first passive IoT terminal, including: The core network element queries the stored context of the first passive IoT terminal, where the context of the first passive IoT terminal includes first capability information of the first passive IoT terminal; or, The core network element obtains the first capability information of the first passive IoT terminal from the data management network element.

6. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The core network element receives second capability information of the first passive IoT terminal, where the second capability information is capability information after the capability of the first passive IoT terminal changes; The core network element stores the second capability information.

7. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 6, characterized in that: The first capability information of the first passive Internet of Things terminal or the second capability information of the first passive Internet of Things terminal includes the following information: information about operations supported by the first passive Internet of Things terminal, and / or the type of the first passive Internet of Things terminal, wherein the type of the first passive Internet of Things terminal has a mapping relationship with the operations supported by the first passive Internet of Things terminal.

8. A communication method, characterized in that: include: The reader receives first indication information sent by a core network element, where the first indication information is used to instruct the first passive IoT terminal to report first capability information of the first passive IoT terminal, where the first capability information corresponds to an operation supported by the first passive IoT terminal; The reader sends the first indication information to the first passive Internet of Things terminal.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The method further comprises: The reader receives second capability information sent by the first passive IoT terminal, where the second capability information is capability information after the capability of the first passive IoT terminal changes; The reader sends the second capability information to the core network element.

10. A communication method, characterized in that: include: The first passive IoT terminal receives first indication information sent by the reader, where the first indication information is used to instruct the first passive IoT terminal to report first capability information of the first passive IoT terminal, where the first capability information corresponds to an operation supported by the first passive IoT terminal; The first passive Internet of Things terminal sends the first capability information to the reader.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first passive IoT terminal sends second capability information to the reader, where the second capability information is capability information after the capability of the first passive IoT terminal has changed.

12. A communication method, characterized in that: include: The first passive IoT terminal receives instruction information and filtering information of a first operation from the reader, wherein the first operation is an operation that needs to be performed on the first passive IoT terminal, and the filtering information is used to screen the passive IoT terminals that meet the conditions; The first passive Internet of Things terminal determines that the condition indicated by the filtering information is met, and the first passive Internet of Things terminal does not support the first operation, and the first passive Internet of Things terminal rejects random access.

13. A communication method, characterized in that: include: The first passive IoT terminal receives instruction information of a first operation from a reader, where the first operation is an operation that needs to be performed on the first passive IoT terminal; The first passive IoT terminal determines that it does not support the first operation, and sends first information to a core network element, where the first information is used to indicate that the first passive IoT terminal does not support the first operation.

14. The method according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first passive IoT terminal determines, according to the capability information of the first passive IoT terminal, whether the first passive IoT terminal supports the first operation; Among them, the capability information of the first passive IoT terminal includes: information about operations supported by the first passive IoT terminal; or the type of the first passive IoT terminal, wherein the type of the first passive IoT terminal has a mapping relationship with the operations supported by the first passive IoT terminal.

15. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 14, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The first passive IoT terminal sends second capability information to the reader, where the second capability information is capability information after the capability of the first passive IoT terminal has changed.

16. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 15, characterized in that: The indication information of the first operation is carried in an N2 message, or the indication information of the first operation is carried in a non-access stratum NAS message in the N2 message.

17. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A transceiver module, configured to receive a first request message sent by an operation requester, wherein the first request message is used to request to perform a first operation on a first passive IoT terminal; A processing module, configured to determine whether the first passive IoT terminal supports the first operation; The processing module is further used to determine that the first passive Internet of Things terminal does not support the first operation, and refuse to send an instruction for the first operation to the first passive Internet of Things terminal.

18. The device according to claim 17, characterized in that The processing module is specifically used for: Acquire first capability information of the first passive IoT terminal, where the first capability information corresponds to an operation supported by the first passive IoT terminal; If the first operation belongs to the operation corresponding to the first capability information, it is determined that the first passive IoT terminal supports the first operation.

19. The device according to claim 18, characterized in that The transceiver module is also used for: Sending first indication information to the reader, where the first indication information is used to instruct the first passive Internet of Things terminal to report capability information of the first passive Internet of Things terminal.

20. The device according to claim 19, characterized in that The first indication information is carried in the N2 message.

21. The device according to claim 18, characterized in that The processing module is specifically used for: querying the stored context of the first passive IoT terminal, where the context of the first passive IoT terminal includes first capability information of the first passive IoT terminal; or, Obtain first capability information of the first passive Internet of Things terminal from a data management network element.

22. The device according to any one of claims 18 to 21, characterized in that The transceiver module is also used for: Receiving second capability information of the first passive IoT terminal, where the second capability information is capability information after the capability of the first passive IoT terminal changes; The second capability information is saved.

23. The device according to any one of claims 18 to 22, characterized in that The first capability information of the first passive Internet of Things terminal or the second capability information of the first passive Internet of Things terminal includes an identifier of the first passive Internet of Things terminal and the following information: information about operations supported by the first passive Internet of Things terminal, and / or the type of the first passive Internet of Things terminal, wherein the type of the first passive Internet of Things terminal has a mapping relationship with the operations supported by the first passive Internet of Things terminal.

24. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A transceiver module, configured to receive first indication information sent by a core network network element, and send the first indication information to a first passive IoT terminal, wherein the first indication information is used to instruct the first passive IoT terminal to report first capability information of the first passive IoT terminal, wherein the first capability information corresponds to an operation supported by the first passive IoT terminal; A processing module is used to determine the first indication information.

25. The device according to claim 24, characterized in that The transceiver module is also used for: Receiving second capability information sent by the first passive IoT terminal, where the second capability information is capability information after the capability of the first passive IoT terminal changes; Send the second capability information to the core network element.

26. A communication device, characterized in that: include: a transceiver module, configured to receive first indication information sent by a reader, and to send first capability information to the reader, wherein the first indication information is used to instruct the communication device to report the first capability information of the communication device, and the first capability information corresponds to an operation supported by the communication device; A processing module is used to determine the first capability information.

27. The device according to claim 26, characterized in that The transceiver module is also used for: Sending second capability information to the reader, where the second capability information is capability information after the capability of the communication device has changed.

28. A communication device, characterized in that: include: a transceiver module, configured to receive instruction information and filter information of a first operation from a reader, wherein the first operation is an operation to be performed on the communication device, and the filter information is used to screen communication devices that meet the conditions; The processing module is used to determine that the communication device meets the condition indicated by the filtering information and the communication device does not support the first operation, and reject random access.

29. A communication device, characterized in that: include: a transceiver module, configured to receive instruction information of a first operation from a reader, wherein the first operation is an operation to be performed on the communication device; The processing module is used to determine that the first operation is not supported, and send first information to a core network element, where the first information is used to indicate that the communication device does not support the first operation.

30. The device according to claim 28 or 29, characterized in that The capability information of the communication device includes: Information about operations supported by the communication device; or, the type of the communication device, wherein the type of the communication device and the operations supported by the communication device have a mapping relationship.

31. The device according to any one of claims 28 to 30, characterized in that The transceiver module is also used for: Sending second capability information to the reader, where the second capability information is capability information after the capability of the communication device has changed.

32. The device according to any one of claims 28 to 31, characterized in that The indication information of the first operation is carried in an N2 message, or the indication information of the first operation is carried in a non-access stratum NAS message in the N2 message.

33. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device comprises a processor, and the processor is configured to execute the method according to any one of claims 1-16.

34. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium comprises instructions, and when the instructions are executed by a processor, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16 is implemented.

35. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises instructions, and when the instructions are executed by a processor, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16 is implemented.

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