Communication method and device

Abstract

The invention relates to a communication method, equipment, a computer readable storage medium, a computer program product and a computer program. The method comprises the following steps: the terminal equipment receives a trigger signal; the terminal equipment reports data at a first moment; wherein the first moment is related to waiting duration.

Description

Communication method and device Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communications, and more specifically, to a communication method, device, computer-readable storage medium, computer program product, and computer program. Background Art

[0002] In related technologies, mobile communication networks support zero-power terminals accessing the network. For example, zero-power terminals can directly access base stations to report data. However, within the base station's coverage area, there may be a large number of zero-power terminals that need to report data. Therefore, how to ensure that the network can receive data normally becomes a problem that needs to be solved.

[0003] Summary of the Invention

[0004] Embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, device, computer-readable storage medium, computer program product, and computer program.

[0005] An embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, including:

[0006] The terminal device receives a trigger signal;

[0007] The terminal device reports data at a first moment; wherein the first moment is related to the waiting time.

[0008] An embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, including:

[0009] The core network device sends a first request to the access network device; wherein the first request is used to instruct the access network device to send a trigger signal;

[0010] The core network device receives data reported by the terminal device; wherein the receiving time of the data is related to the waiting time.

[0011] An embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, including:

[0012] The access network device sends a trigger signal;

[0013] The access network device receives data reported by the terminal device and sends the data to the core network device; wherein the sending time of the data is related to the waiting time.

[0014] An embodiment of the present application provides a terminal device, including:

[0015] A first communication unit, configured to receive a trigger signal and report data;

[0016] The first processing unit is configured to control the first communication unit to report data at a first moment; wherein the first moment is related to a waiting time.

[0017] An embodiment of the present application provides a core network device, including:

[0018] The second communication unit is used to send a first request to the access network device; wherein the first request is used to instruct the access network device to send a trigger signal; and receive data reported by the terminal device; wherein the receiving time of the data is related to the waiting time.

[0019] An embodiment of the present application provides an access network device, including:

[0020] The third communication unit is used to send a trigger signal; and receive data reported by the terminal device, and send the data to the core network device; wherein the sending time of the data is related to the waiting time.

[0021] An embodiment of the present application provides a terminal device, comprising a transceiver, a processor, and a memory. The memory is used to store a computer program, and the processor is used to call and run the computer program stored in the memory, so that the terminal device executes the above method.

[0022] An embodiment of the present application provides an access network device, comprising a transceiver, a processor, and a memory. The memory is used to store a computer program, and the processor is used to call and run the computer program stored in the memory, so that the access network device performs the above method.

[0023] An embodiment of the present application provides a core network device, comprising a transceiver, a processor, and a memory. The memory is used to store a computer program, and the processor is used to call and run the computer program stored in the memory, so that the core network device performs the above method.

[0024] The embodiment of the present application provides a chip for implementing the above method.

[0025] Specifically, the chip includes: a processor, which is used to call and run a computer program from a memory, so that a device equipped with the chip executes the above method.

[0026] An embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program, which enables a device to perform the above method when the computer program is executed by the device.

[0027] An embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product, including computer program instructions, which enable a computer to execute the above method.

[0028] An embodiment of the present application provides a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the above method.

[0029] By adopting the above solution, after receiving the trigger signal, the terminal device will wait until the first moment arrives before reporting the data. In this way, the terminal device does not report the data immediately after receiving the trigger signal, and the terminal device can determine the waiting time by itself. Therefore, the time when the network side receives the data reported by the terminal device can also be different, thereby avoiding the problem of network congestion or paralysis caused by the network side receiving data from a large number of terminals at the same time, and ensuring that the network side can normally receive the data reported by the terminal device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0031] Figure 2 is a 5G network system architecture diagram according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0032] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the zero-power system architecture.

[0033] FIG4 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0034] FIG5 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method according to another embodiment of the present application.

[0035] FIG6 is an exemplary flowchart of a communication method according to yet another embodiment of the present application.

[0036] FIG7 is an exemplary flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0037] FIG8 is another exemplary flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0038] FIG9 is a schematic block diagram of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0039] FIG10 is a schematic block diagram of a terminal device according to another embodiment of the present application.

[0040] FIG11 is a schematic block diagram of a core network device according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0041] FIG12 is a schematic block diagram of a core network device according to another embodiment of the present application.

[0042] FIG13 is a schematic block diagram of a core network device according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0043] FIG14 is a schematic block diagram of a core network device according to another embodiment of the present application.

[0044] FIG15 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0045] FIG16 is a schematic block diagram of a chip according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0046] FIG17 is a schematic block diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0047] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

[0048] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: Global System of Mobile communication (GSM) system, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) system, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, Advanced Long Term Evolution (LTE-A) system, New Radio (NR) system, NR system evolution system, LTE on unlicensed spectrum (LTE-U) system, NR on unlicensed spectrum (NR-U) system, Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) system, Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN), Wireless Fidelity (Wireless Fidelity) system. Fidelity, WiFi), fifth-generation communication (5th-Generation, 5G) system or other communication systems, etc.

[0049] Generally speaking, traditional communication systems support a limited number of connections and are easy to implement. However, with the development of communication technology, mobile communication systems will not only support traditional communications, but will also support, for example, device-to-device (D2D) communication, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, etc. The embodiments of the present application can also be applied to these communication systems.

[0050] In one possible implementation, the communication system in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to a carrier aggregation (CA) scenario, a dual connectivity (DC) scenario, and a standalone (SA) networking scenario.

[0051] In one possible implementation, the communication system in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to an unlicensed spectrum, where the unlicensed spectrum can also be considered as a shared spectrum; or, the communication system in the embodiment of the present application can also be applied to an authorized spectrum, where the authorized spectrum can also be considered as an unshared spectrum.

[0052] The embodiments of the present application describe various embodiments in conjunction with network devices and terminal devices, wherein the terminal device may also be referred to as user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent or user device, etc.

[0053] The terminal device can be a station (STAION, ST) in a WLAN, a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) device, a handheld device with wireless communication capabilities, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a terminal device in a next-generation communication system such as an NR network, or a terminal device in a future evolved Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) network, etc.

[0054] In an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld, wearable or vehicle-mounted; it can also be deployed on the water surface (such as ships, etc.); it can also be deployed in the air (such as airplanes, balloons and satellites, etc.).

[0055] In an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device may be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal device in industrial control, a wireless terminal device in self-driving, a wireless terminal device in remote medical, a wireless terminal device in a smart grid, a wireless terminal device in transportation safety, a wireless terminal device in a smart city, or a wireless terminal device in a smart home, etc.

[0056] As an example and not a limitation, in the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device may also be a wearable device. Wearable devices may also be called wearable smart devices, which are a general term for wearable devices that are intelligently designed and developed using wearable technology for daily wear, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. A wearable device is a portable device that is worn directly on the body or integrated into the user's clothes or accessories. Wearable devices are not only hardware devices, but also achieve powerful functions through software support, data interaction, and cloud interaction. Broadly speaking, wearable smart devices include those that are fully functional, large in size, and can achieve complete or partial functions without relying on smartphones, such as smart watches or smart glasses, as well as those that only focus on a certain type of application function and need to be used in conjunction with other devices such as smartphones, such as various smart bracelets and smart jewelry for vital sign monitoring.

[0057] In an embodiment of the present application, the network device may be a device for communicating with a mobile device. The network device may be an access point (AP) in WLAN, a base station (BTS) in GSM or CDMA, a base station (NodeB, NB) in WCDMA, an evolved base station (eNB or eNodeB) in LTE, or a relay station or access point, or a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, and a network device (gNB) in an NR network, or a network device in a future evolved PLMN network or a network device in an NTN network, etc.

[0058] As an example and not a limitation, in an embodiment of the present application, the network device may have a mobile feature, for example, the network device may be a mobile device. Alternatively, the network device may be a satellite or a balloon station. For example, the satellite may be a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite, a medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite, a geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite, a high elliptical orbit (HEO) satellite, etc. Optionally, the network device may also be a base station set up in a location such as land or water.

[0059] In an embodiment of the present application, the network device can provide services for a cell, and the terminal device communicates with the network device through the transmission resources used by the cell (for example, frequency domain resources, or spectrum resources). The cell can be a cell corresponding to the network device (for example, a base station). The cell can belong to a macro base station or a base station corresponding to a small cell. The small cells here may include: metro cells, micro cells, pico cells, femto cells, etc. These small cells have the characteristics of small coverage and low transmission power, and are suitable for providing high-speed data transmission services.

[0060] FIG1 exemplarily illustrates a communication system 100. The communication system includes a network device 110 and two terminal devices 120. In one possible implementation, the communication system 100 may include multiple network devices 110, and each network device 110 may include a different number of terminal devices 120 within its coverage area, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0061] In one possible implementation, the communication system 100 may further include other network entities such as a Mobility Management Entity (MME) and an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0062] Among them, the network equipment may include access network equipment and core network equipment. That is, the wireless communication system also includes multiple core networks for communicating with the access network equipment. The access network equipment can be an evolutionary base station (evolutional node B, abbreviated as eNB or e-NodeB) macro base station, micro base station (also called "small base station"), pico base station, access point (AP), transmission point (TP) or new generation base station (new generation Node B, gNodeB), etc. in a long-term evolution (LTE) system, a next-generation (mobile communication system) (next radio, NR) system or an authorized auxiliary access long-term evolution (LAA-LTE) system.

[0063] It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, a device having a communication function in a network / system may be referred to as a communication device. Taking the communication system shown in Figure 1 as an example, the communication device may include a network device and a terminal device having a communication function. The network device and the terminal device may be specific devices in the embodiments of the present application and will not be described in detail here. The communication device may also include other devices in the communication system, such as a network controller, a mobility management entity, and other network entities, which are not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0064] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the following briefly describes the basic processes and basic concepts involved in the embodiments of the present application. It should be understood that the basic processes and basic concepts introduced below do not limit the embodiments of the present application.

[0065] The 5G network system architecture is shown in Figure 2, which includes: NSSF (Network Slice Selection Function) is mainly used to manage network slice related information, such as selecting network slices for terminal devices; AUSF (Authentication Server Function) is used to complete the identity authentication function of user access; UDM (Unified Data Management) is used to manage and store contract data and authentication data; AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function) is used to complete mobility management, security anchor and security context management, etc. In addition to managing the mobility of UE, AMF is also responsible for forwarding session management related messages between UE and SMF; SMF (Session Management Function) is used to complete session management, UE IP address allocation and management, etc.; PCF (Policy Control Function) is responsible for formulating policies related to UE mobility management, session management, billing, etc.; AF (Application Function) is used for external application servers; UPF (User Plane Function) is used to manage and store user data and authentication data; The 5GC's DN (Data Network) is used for complex user-plane processing, such as forwarding traffic between the wireless access network and the Internet, reporting traffic usage, and implementing QoS (Quality of Service) policies. The DN (Data Network) is the 5GC's external data network (such as the Internet).

[0066] In addition, data is transmitted between various nodes in the 5G Core Network (5G Core Network), between user equipment (UE) and 5G Core Network nodes, between the UE and the Radio Access Network (RAN), and between the RAN and 5G Core Network nodes through corresponding interfaces. For example, as shown in Figure 2, data is transmitted between the AMF and the NSSF in the 5G Core Network (5G Core Network) via interface N22; data is transmitted between the AMF and the SMF via interface N11; data is transmitted between the AMF and the AUSF via interface N12; and data is transmitted between the AMF and the UDM via interface N8. Data is transmitted between the SMF and the UPF via interface N4. The UPF transmits data to the external data network via interface N6 and to the AN via interface N3. The UE connects to the AN via the Uu interface for access layer communication, exchanging access layer messages and wireless data transmission. The UE connects to the AMF via the N1 interface for non-access layer (NAS) communication, exchanging NAS messages. Data is transmitted between the RAN and the AMF via interface N2, and between the RAN and the UPF via interface N3. It should be understood that the above only describes the interfaces between some nodes, and other interfaces between other 5GC nodes in Figure 2 are not described one by one.

[0067] Zero-power communication networks are a type of wireless communication technology suitable for short-range, low-speed communications. Zero-power devices primarily combine RF energy harvesting, backscattering, and low-power computing technologies to achieve the advantage of eliminating the need for power supply devices. The basic architecture of a zero-power system is shown in Figure 3. It comprises a reader and a tag. The tag can perform functions such as energy harvesting, backscattering communication, and low-power computing. Energy harvesting, also known as RF energy collection, is the process of converting RF energy into DC. This energy can be stored in batteries or capacitors, or directly used to drive logic circuits, digital chips, or sensors, performing functions and applications such as modulation and transmission of backscattered signals and collection and processing of sensor information. A tag is a type of zero-power terminal. It should be understood that in real-world scenarios, a zero-power terminal can be either a tag or a standard device; this is not a limitation here.

[0068] With the development of 5G systems, the 3GPP standard has introduced requirements for 5G systems to support zero-power terminal access to the network. Zero-power terminal access networks primarily target scenarios with the following characteristics: extreme environments unsuitable for standard terminals; the use of terminals with very low power consumption and cost; and battery-free terminals. Zero-power communication systems can be used in scenarios such as wireless industrial sensing networks, smart agriculture, smart warehousing and logistics, and smart homes. Zero-power terminals can connect directly to the base station or through a relay device. The former is called direct mode, and the latter is called indirect mode.

[0069] Based on the energy source and usage of zero-power terminals, zero-power terminals can be divided into the following types:

[0070] 1) Passive zero-power terminals. Passive zero-power terminals do not require internal batteries. When a passive zero-power terminal approaches a network device (such as an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) system reader), it is within the near field formed by the network device antenna radiation. Therefore, the passive zero-power terminal antenna generates an induced current through electromagnetic induction, and the induced current drives the low-power chip circuit of the zero-power terminal. This realizes the demodulation of the forward link signal and the modulation of the backward link signal. For the backscatter link, the passive zero-power terminal uses the backscatter implementation method to transmit the signal.

[0071] As can be seen, passive zero-power terminals require no internal batteries for either the forward or reverse link, making them truly zero-power terminals. Passive zero-power terminals do not require batteries, and their RF and baseband circuits are very simple. For example, they do not require components such as LNAs (low-noise amplifiers), PAs (power amplifiers), crystal oscillators, and ADCs (digital-to-analog converters). Consequently, they offer numerous advantages, including small size, light weight, very low price, and long service life. Other features of these passive zero-power terminals include: no batteries; they draw energy from the surrounding environment (such as radio waves, solar energy, wind energy, and mechanical energy); and they do not require a USIM (Universal Subscriber Identity Module). While they can store a certain amount of energy from the surrounding environment, the energy consumption is minimal, and therefore the functional logic they support is much less than that of standard mobile phone terminals.

[0072] 2) Semi-passive zero-power terminals: These terminals do not have conventional batteries themselves, but instead use RF energy harvesting modules to harvest radio wave energy and store it in an energy storage unit (such as a capacitor). This energy storage unit then drives the low-power chip circuitry of the semi-passive zero-power terminal, enabling forward link signal demodulation and backward link signal modulation. For backscatter links, the semi-passive zero-power terminal uses backscattering to transmit signals.

[0073] As can be seen, the semi-passive zero-power terminal does not require internal batteries for either the forward link or the reverse link. Although it uses energy stored in capacitors, this energy comes from radio energy collected by the energy harvesting module, making it a truly zero-power terminal. Semi-passive zero-power terminals inherit many of the advantages of passive zero-power terminals, offering advantages such as small size, light weight, very low price, and long service life.

[0074] 3) Active zero-power terminals. The zero-power terminals used in some scenarios can also be active zero-power terminals, which can have built-in batteries. The battery is used to drive the low-power chip circuit of the active zero-power terminal to realize the demodulation of the forward link signal and the modulation of the backward link signal. However, for the backscatter link, the active zero-power terminal uses the backscatter implementation method to transmit the signal. Therefore, the zero power consumption of this type of terminal is mainly reflected in the fact that the signal transmission of the reverse link does not require the terminal's own power, but uses the backscatter method. The active zero-power terminal has a built-in battery to power the RFID chip to increase the reading and writing distance of the tag and improve the reliability of communication. Therefore, it can be used in some scenarios with relatively high requirements on communication distance, reading delay, etc.

[0075] Based on the above description, it can be seen that zero-power terminals are characterized by small size, large number, and low complexity. In direct mode, when a base station sends a trigger signal, if a large number of zero-power terminals under the base station need to respond, the network may receive a large amount of reply signaling or data at the same time, which may cause network congestion or paralysis. Therefore, how to ensure the normal data reception of the network becomes a problem that needs to be solved.

[0076] It should be understood that the terms "system" and "network" are often used interchangeably herein. The term "and / or" is simply a description of an association between related objects, indicating that three possible relationships exist. For example, "A and / or B" can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, or B exists alone. Furthermore, the character " / " generally indicates that the related objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0077] It should be understood that the "indication" mentioned in the embodiments of this application can be a direct indication, an indirect indication, or an indication of an association. For example, "A indicates B" can mean that A directly indicates B, for example, B can be obtained through A; it can also mean that A indirectly indicates B, for example, A indicates C, and B can be obtained through C; it can also mean that there is an association between A and B.

[0078] In the description of the embodiments of the present application, the term "corresponding" may indicate a direct or indirect correspondence between the two, or an association relationship between the two, or a relationship between indication and being indicated, configuration and being configured, etc.

[0079] To facilitate understanding of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the relevant technologies of the embodiments of the present application are described below. The following relevant technologies can be arbitrarily combined with the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application as optional solutions, and they all fall within the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application.

[0080] Figure 4 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application. The method includes at least part of the following contents.

[0081] S410: The terminal device receives a trigger signal;

[0082] S420. The terminal device reports data at a first moment; wherein the first moment is related to the waiting time.

[0083] Figure 5 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method according to another embodiment of the present application. The method includes at least part of the following contents.

[0084] S510. The core network device sends a first request to the access network device; wherein the first request is used to instruct the access network device to send a trigger signal;

[0085] S520. The core network device receives data reported by the terminal device; wherein the receiving time of the data is related to the waiting time.

[0086] Figure 6 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method according to another embodiment of the present application. The method includes at least part of the following contents.

[0087] S610: The access network device sends a trigger signal.

[0088] S620. The access network device receives data reported by the terminal device and sends the data to the core network device; wherein the sending time of the data is related to the waiting time.

[0089] Here, the access network device may be any one of a base station, gNB, and eNB. The core network device may be a device in 5GC. The core network device may be one of the following: AMF, UPF, SMF, and the like. In a preferred example, the core network device is an AMF.

[0090] The aforementioned terminal device may be an Internet of Things (IoT) terminal device, or an Ambient power enabled Internet of Things (AIoT) terminal device based on energy harvesting. In some possible examples, the terminal device may be a zero-power terminal, for example, a zero-power IoT terminal or a zero-power AIoT terminal. For another example, the zero-power IoT terminal may be a semi-passive zero-power IoT terminal or an active zero-power IoT terminal, or the zero-power AIoT terminal may be an active zero-power AIoT terminal or a semi-passive AIoT terminal. In other possible examples, the terminal device may be a terminal device with IoT or AIoT capabilities.

[0091] It should be understood that the aforementioned descriptions of the access network device, core network device, and terminal device are applicable to the communication method provided in any one of the aforementioned embodiments of FIG. 4 to FIG. 6 .

[0092] In some possible implementations, when there is a data collection requirement on the network side, a device on the core network side sends a first request to the access network device, so that the access network device sends a trigger signal to the terminal device. In this case, the first request carries the first configuration information, and the trigger signal carries the first configuration information. Specifically, as follows:

[0093] The core network device sends a first request to the access network device, including: when the core network device receives the second request, the core network device sends the first request to the access network device; the second request is used to instruct the core network device to send the first request.

[0094] The access network device sends a trigger signal, comprising: when the access network device receives a first request sent by a core network device, the access network device sends the trigger signal to the terminal device.

[0095] Correspondingly, the terminal device receiving the trigger signal includes: the terminal device receiving the trigger signal sent by the access network device. Specifically, the terminal device receiving the trigger signal means that the access stratum (AS) of the terminal device receives the trigger signal sent by the access network device.

[0096] The first request carries first configuration information, and the first configuration information is used to determine the waiting time.

[0097] The second request indicates that the target AF needs to obtain data or needs to collect data. Specifically, the second request indicates that the target AF needs to trigger the core network device to send the first request to obtain data. The second request carries the first configuration information; or, the second request carries second configuration information, and the second configuration information is related to the first configuration information. The second request may also carry at least one of a service identifier (ID) and a service area (area); further, the second request may also carry the ID of the target AF.

[0098] The target AF may be one of one or more AFs. Any one of the one or more AFs may be an external application server.

[0099] The processing of the core network device receiving the second request may include one of the following: the core network device directly receiving the second request sent by the target application function (AF); or the core network device receiving the second request sent by another core network device. The other core network device may be a device in the core network other than the core network device.

[0100] Exemplarily, the aforementioned core network device is an AMF, and the aforementioned other core network devices include: an SMF. The aforementioned core network device receiving the second request sent by the other core network device may include: the AMF receiving the second request sent by the SMF.

[0101] In this example, the processing from the target AF to the SMF may also include: when the target AF has a data collection requirement, the target AF sends a third request to the NEF (Network Element Function); when the NEF receives the third request, the NEF sends a fourth request to the SMF; when the SMF receives the fourth request, the SMF sends the second request to the AMF. Alternatively, when the target AF has a data collection requirement, the target AF sends the fifth request to the SMF; when the SMF receives the fifth request, the SMF sends the second request to the AMF. The fifth request may carry the first configuration information or the second configuration information; the fifth request may also carry at least one of the Service ID and the Service area; further, the fifth request may also carry the ID of the target AF.

[0102] The aforementioned NEF, upon receiving the third request, sends the fourth request to the SMF, which may include: upon receiving the third request and determining based on the third request that the target AF is allowed to perform services through 5GC, the NEF sends the fourth request to the SMF. The third request may carry: first configuration information, or second configuration information, the second configuration information being related to the first configuration information; the third request may also carry at least one of a service identifier, a service area, and the ID of the target AF. Accordingly, the NEF, based on the third request, determines whether the target AF is allowed to perform services through 5GC in a judgment method, which may include at least one of the following: the NEF may determine, based on the ID of the target AF in the third request, whether the target AF is a preset AF that is allowed to perform service data transmission through 5GC, and if so, determine to allow the target AF to perform services through 5GC; the NEF may determine, based on the service (Service) identifier (ID) in the third request, whether the service is a preset service that is allowed to perform data transmission through 5GC, and if so, determine to allow the target AF to perform services through 5GC. The fourth request may carry the first configuration information or the second configuration information; the fourth request may also carry at least one of a Service ID and a Service area; further, the fourth request may also carry an ID of a target AF.

[0103] Furthermore, the NEF sending the fourth request to the SMF may include: the NEF selecting an SMF from multiple candidate SMFs according to the service identifier and / or service area in the third request, and sending the fourth request to the selected SMF.

[0104] When the aforementioned SMF receives the fourth request, the processing of the SMF sending the second request to the AMF may include: the SMF determines the AMF from multiple candidate AMFs based on the first correspondence and at least one of the Service ID and Service area in the fourth request, and sends the second request to the AMF. The first correspondence may refer to: the candidate service identifier and / or candidate service area corresponding to each candidate AMF among the multiple candidate AMFs.

[0105] In the above exemplary description, although some of the contents included in the third request, the fourth request, the fifth request and the second request are the same, the third request, the fourth request, the fifth request and the second request are respectively carried by different signaling between different device interfaces.

[0106] It should be understood that the above descriptions of several examples of the AMF receiving the second request in the case where the core network device is AMF do not exhaustively enumerate the processing of the core network device receiving the second request.

[0107] The above embodiment has described that the second request may carry a service identifier and / or a service area. In this embodiment, the above second request may also carry the first configuration information, or may also carry the second configuration information.

[0108] Optionally, the second request carries the first configuration information; accordingly, the core network device sends the first request to the access network device as follows: the core network device can directly carry the first configuration information in the first request and send it to the access network device. In this case, the second configuration information can include the first response time. The first configuration information can also include the first response time. Further, the second configuration information can also include first indication information; accordingly, the first configuration information can also include the first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate the generation of a random number based on the first response time. The function used to generate the random number can be a normal function or a uniform distribution function.

[0109] Optionally, the second request carries the second configuration information; accordingly, the core network device sends the first request to the access network device, including: the core network device obtains the first configuration information based on the second configuration information in the second request, and sends the first configuration information to the access network device in the first request.

[0110] In this case, the second configuration information may include a second response time. The first configuration information may include a first response time, and the first response time may be obtained based on the second response time.

[0111] The aforementioned second response time may also be referred to as a second response time range. The second response time may be measured in milliseconds, and other units may also be used. The aforementioned first response time may also be referred to as a first response time range. The first response time may be measured in milliseconds, and other units may also be used. The examples are not exhaustive here.

[0112] For example, the first response duration may be one of the following: equal to the second response duration; the second response duration is reduced by the first specified duration; the second response duration is increased by the second specified duration; or a second random number that is not greater than the second response duration. That is, the core network device may obtain the first configuration information based on the second configuration information in the second request in one of the following ways: the core network device uses the second response duration of the second configuration information in the second request as the first response duration, and generates the first configuration information based on the first response duration; the core network device reduces the second response duration of the second configuration information in the second request by the first specified duration to obtain the first response duration, and generates the first configuration information based on the first response duration; the core network device increases the second response duration of the second configuration information in the second request by the second specified duration to obtain the first response duration, and generates the first configuration information based on the first response duration; the core network device obtains a second random number that is not greater than the second response duration based on the second response duration of the second configuration information in the second request, uses the second random number as the first response duration, and generates the first configuration information based on the first response duration.

[0113] The first specified duration can be set according to actual conditions, such as 1 millisecond, 0.1 millisecond, or a larger or smaller value, which is not exhaustively enumerated here. The second specified duration can be set according to actual conditions, such as 0.05 milliseconds, or a larger or smaller value, which is not exhaustively enumerated here. The function that can be used to generate the second random number can be a normal function or a uniform distribution function.

[0114] Optionally, the first request may also carry second indication information, and the second indication information includes identification information corresponding to one or more devices that need to be triggered; the one or more devices that need to be triggered include the terminal device. That is, in addition to carrying the aforementioned first configuration information in the first request, the core network device may also carry second indication information in the first request to indicate one or more devices that need to be triggered in the access network device. The aforementioned one or more devices that need to be triggered may be determined by the core network device according to actual conditions. For example, if the core network device supports services of multiple AFs at the same time, when the core network device receives the second request, one or more devices associated with the target AF in the service area may be determined according to the second request as the aforementioned one or more devices that need to be triggered. Among the aforementioned one or more devices that need to be triggered, any one of the devices that need to be triggered may be a zero-power terminal, specifically an AIoT device or an IoT device.

[0115] After receiving the first request, the access network device may send a trigger signal to the terminal device, wherein the trigger signal carries first configuration information, and the first configuration information is used to determine the waiting time.

[0116] The trigger signal is one of the following: a paging message or a broadcast signal.

[0117] Optionally, the trigger signal is a paging message. Specifically, the trigger signal can reuse the paging message in the related technology, that is, add a trigger signal for triggering the terminal device to report data in the paging message. If the trigger signal is a paging message, the trigger signal is a signal that can be received by the corresponding device. In a preferred example, the first request carries the second indication information, and the access network device can determine the identifier of each device that needs to be triggered based on the second indication information (for example, the second indication information includes the UE ID of each AIoT device that needs to be triggered); accordingly, the access network device can send a trigger signal of the corresponding multiplexed paging message to each device that needs to be triggered. Of course, there can be another example. If the first request does not carry the second indication information, the access network device can be a trigger signal that sends a corresponding multiplexed paging message to all devices within its coverage area.

[0118] Optionally, the trigger signal is a broadcast signal. In this case, the broadcast signal may be a signal different from the broadcast signal specified in the relevant protocol. If the trigger signal is a broadcast signal, the trigger signal is a signal that can be received by all devices within the coverage of the access network device. In a preferred example, the first request does not carry the second indication information, then the access network device may broadcast the trigger signal to all devices within its coverage. Of course, there is another possible example, the first request carries the second indication information, but the access network device still broadcasts the trigger signal to all devices within its coverage; then the access network device receives the data reported by the terminal device, determines whether the identifier of the terminal device is the same as the identifier of any one of the one or more devices that need to be triggered, and if so, sends the data to the core network device.

[0119] The above processing describes the process in which the core network device sends a first request, and the access network device sends a trigger signal to the terminal device after receiving the first request.

[0120] The aforementioned terminal device receives a trigger signal, and the terminal device reports data at a first moment. This may include: when the terminal device receives a trigger signal, if the trigger signal does not carry the second indication information, then the terminal device reports the data at the first moment; if the trigger signal carries the second indication information, then the terminal device determines whether its own identification information is any one of the identification information corresponding to one or more devices to be triggered in the second indication information, and if so, then the terminal device reports the data at the first moment. In addition, it may also include: if the terminal device's own identification information is not any one of the identification information corresponding to one or more devices to be triggered in the second indication information, then the terminal device does not collect data or does not report data.

[0121] It should be noted that the data reported by the aforementioned terminal device is data collected by the terminal device. The time when the terminal device collects the data can be before receiving the trigger signal or after receiving the trigger signal. This embodiment does not limit this.

[0122] The terminal device reporting data at the first moment may be: the NAS of the terminal device establishing a NAS connection with the core network device at the first moment, and reporting the data to the core network device via the NAS connection. Alternatively, the terminal device reporting data at the first moment may be: the AS of the terminal device reporting the data to the access network device at the first moment.

[0123] Correspondingly, the core network device receives the data reported by the terminal device, including: the core network device establishes a NAS connection with the terminal device and receives the data reported by the terminal device through the NAS connection; or, the core network device receives the data reported by the terminal device through the access network device.

[0124] The first moment is the moment obtained by adding the waiting time to the moment of receiving the trigger signal. That is, the terminal device adds the waiting time based on the moment of receiving the trigger signal to obtain the first moment.

[0125] Whether the terminal device reports data to the core network device via the NAS or to the access network device via the AS can be pre-configured or determined by the terminal device itself, and the determination method is not limited. For example, the user can pre-configure the NAS of the terminal device to report data to the core network device, or the AS of the terminal device can be pre-configured to report data to the access network device. This embodiment does not limit the pre-configuration method of the terminal device. The following are respectively explained:

[0126] In one embodiment, the terminal device reports data at a first moment, including: the NAS of the terminal device establishes a NAS connection with a core network device at the first moment, and reports the data to the core network device via the NAS connection. Correspondingly, the core network device receives the data reported by the terminal device, including: the core network device establishes a NAS connection with the terminal device, and receives the data reported by the terminal device via the NAS connection.

[0127] The establishment of a NAS connection with the core network device and the establishment of a NAS connection between the core network device and the terminal device may be performed by the terminal device and the core network device through a service request process. The specific processing of the service request process between the terminal device and the core network device is not limited in this embodiment.

[0128] Furthermore, if the terminal device determines to report data to the core network device via NAS, then after the AS of the terminal device receives the trigger signal sent by the access network device, the following steps may also be performed: the AS of the terminal device sends the first configuration information to the non-access stratum (NAS) of the terminal device; and the NAS of the terminal device determines the waiting time based on the first configuration information. Furthermore, the NAS of the terminal device adds the waiting time to obtain the first time based on the time of receipt of the trigger signal.

[0129] In a possible example, the first configuration information may include a first response time. Accordingly, the waiting time may be equal to the first response time.

[0130] The NAS of the terminal device determines the waiting time based on the first configuration information, specifically including: the NAS of the terminal device obtains a first response time from the first configuration information, and directly uses the first response time as the waiting time.

[0131] In a possible example, the first configuration information may include a first response time. Accordingly, the waiting time is a first random number determined based on the first response time, and the first random number is less than or equal to the first response time.

[0132] The NAS of the terminal device determines the waiting time based on the first configuration information, specifically including: the NAS of the terminal device obtains the first response time from the first configuration information, determines a first random number that is not greater than the first response time based on the first response time, and uses the first random number as the waiting time. In this example, the terminal device can pre-set a default first policy, which can indicate that the terminal device needs to determine the first random number based on the first response time, and use the first random number as the waiting time. The function used to generate the first random number can be a normal function or a uniform distribution function.

[0133] In one possible example, the first configuration information includes a first response time, and the first configuration information also includes first indication information, the first indication information being used to instruct generation of a random number based on the first response time. The waiting time is a first random number determined based on the first response time, and the first random number is less than or equal to the first response time.

[0134] The NAS of the terminal device determines the waiting time based on the first configuration information, specifically including: when the NAS of the terminal device obtains the first response time and the first indication information from the first configuration information, generating a first random number that is not greater than the first response time, and using the first random number as the waiting time.

[0135] On the core network device side of this embodiment, the receiving time of the data is the time after the waiting time is added to the sending time of the first request. Since the terminal device reports data directly to the core network device, and the data is reported at the first moment after the terminal device has added the waiting time to the receiving time of the trigger signal, the time between the sending time of the first request sent by the core network device and the receiving time of the data must not be less than the aforementioned waiting time. Specifically, the receiving time of the data may be equal to the sending time of the first request plus the waiting time; or, due to the delay caused by the transmission or the delay caused by other network requests, the receiving time of the data may be later than the sending time of the first request plus the waiting time. In either case, the time when the core network device side receives the data reported by the terminal device is after the sending time of the first request plus the waiting time.

[0136] In this embodiment, the core network device may also determine the waiting time, and the process may include: determining the waiting time based on the first configuration information. It should be understood that the process of the core network device determining the waiting time is the same as the process of the NAS or AS of the terminal device determining the waiting time based on the first configuration information. For example, if the terminal device adopts the default first policy, the corresponding core network device may also adopt the same default first policy, which will not be described in detail here.

[0137] In one embodiment, the terminal device reports data at a first moment, including: the AS of the terminal device reports data to the access network device at the first moment.

[0138] Correspondingly, the processing of the access network device may include: the access network device receiving data reported by the terminal device and sending the data to the core network device.

[0139] The processing of the core network device includes: the core network device receiving data reported by the terminal device. Specifically, the core network device receiving data reported by the terminal device includes: the core network device receiving the data reported by the terminal device through the access network device.

[0140] After the AS of the terminal device receives the trigger signal, the method may further include: the AS of the terminal device determining the waiting time based on the first configuration information. In other words, in this approach, the AS of the terminal device does not need to transmit the first configuration information to the NAS; the AS of the terminal device can directly determine the waiting time based on the first configuration information. Furthermore, the AS of the terminal device adds the waiting time based on the time of receipt of the trigger signal to obtain the first time.

[0141] In a possible example, the first configuration information may include a first response time. Accordingly, the waiting time may be equal to the first response time.

[0142] The AS of the terminal device determines the waiting time based on the first configuration information, specifically including: the AS of the terminal device obtains a first response time from the first configuration information, and directly uses the first response time as the waiting time.

[0143] In a possible example, the first configuration information may include a first response time. Accordingly, the waiting time is a first random number determined based on the first response time, and the first random number is less than or equal to the first response time.

[0144] The AS of the terminal device determines the waiting time based on the first configuration information, specifically including: the AS of the terminal device obtains a first response time from the first configuration information, determines a first random number that is not greater than the first response time based on the first response time, and uses the first random number as the waiting time. In this example, the terminal device may pre-set a default first policy, which may indicate that the terminal device needs to determine the first random number based on the first response time and use the first random number as the waiting time.

[0145] In one possible example, the first configuration information includes a first response time, and the first configuration information also includes first indication information, the first indication information being used to instruct generation of a random number based on the first response time. The waiting time is a first random number determined based on the first response time, and the first random number is less than or equal to the first response time.

[0146] The AS of the terminal device determines the waiting time based on the first configuration information, specifically including: when the AS of the terminal device obtains the first response time and the first indication information from the first configuration information, it generates a first random number not greater than the first response time, and uses the first random number as the waiting time.

[0147] This embodiment differs from the previous one in that the AS of the terminal device reports data to the access network device at the first moment. Accordingly, the access network device receives the data reported by the terminal device and sends it to the core network device. Specifically, upon receiving the data reported by the terminal device, the access network device directly sends the data to the core network device. In other words, as soon as the access network device receives data reported by the terminal device, it sends the data to the core network device.

[0148] In this embodiment, in the process of the access network device sending the data to the core network device, the sending time of the data may be the time after the sending time of the trigger signal is increased by the waiting time. Since the data is reported at the first moment after the terminal device has increased the waiting time at the receiving time of the trigger signal, the time between the sending time of the access network device sending the trigger signal and the sending time of the data must not be less than the aforementioned waiting time. Specifically, the sending time of the data may be equal to the sending time of the trigger signal plus the waiting time, or the sending time of the data may be later than the sending time of the trigger signal plus the waiting time. In either case, the time when the aforementioned access network device sends data to the core network device is after the sending time of the trigger signal plus the waiting time.

[0149] The core network device receives the data reported by the terminal device through the access network device. Similarly, on the core network device side, the receiving time of the data is the time after the waiting time is added to the sending time of the first request. This is because the terminal device reports the data at the first moment after the waiting time is added to the receiving time of the trigger signal. Therefore, the sending time of the access network device to the core network device is also after the sending time of the trigger signal is added to the waiting time. Accordingly, the time between the sending time of the first request sent by the core network device and the receiving time of the data must not be less than the aforementioned waiting time. Specifically, the receiving time of the data may be equal to the sending time of the first request plus the waiting time; or, due to the delay caused by the transmission or the delay caused by other network requests, the receiving time of the data may be later than the sending time of the first request plus the waiting time. In either case, the time when the core network device receives the data is after the sending time of the first request plus the waiting time.

[0150] In this embodiment, the processing of the access network device may further include: determining the waiting time based on the first configuration information. Similarly, the processing of the core network device may also include: determining the waiting time based on the first configuration information. The processing of the access network device and the core network device respectively determining the waiting time should be the same as the processing of the terminal device determining the waiting time. For example, if the terminal device adopts the default first strategy, the corresponding core network device and access network device can also adopt the same default first strategy, so it is not repeated here.

[0151] In another embodiment, the aforementioned access network device may not send the first configuration information to the terminal device, that is, the aforementioned trigger signal may not carry the first configuration information, that is, the trigger signal is only used to trigger the terminal device to report data.

[0152] In this embodiment, the core network device still receives the second request sent by the target AF and sends the first request to the access network device. The relevant descriptions of the second request and the first request are the same as those in the above embodiment and are not repeated here.

[0153] However, in this embodiment, the access network device does not send the first configuration information to the terminal device. The processing by the access network device may include: the access network device sending a trigger signal to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the processing by the terminal device may include: the terminal device's AS receiving the trigger signal sent by the access network device; and the terminal device's AS reporting data to the access network device. Here, before the terminal device's AS reports data to the access network device, the terminal device also collects data. The specific processing of this collected data is not detailed here.

[0154] The method further includes: the access network device determining the waiting time based on the first configuration information. The process of the access network device determining the waiting time based on the first configuration information is the same as that in the above embodiment and will not be described in detail.

[0155] Furthermore, the access network device receives data reported by the terminal device and sends the data to the core network device, including: the access network device receives the data reported by the terminal device; and the access network device sends the data to the core network device when the data sending time arrives. It should be noted that in this embodiment, the access network device determines the time to send data to the core network device, so the data sending time can be equal to the time obtained by adding the waiting time to the sending time of the trigger signal.

[0156] In conjunction with Figure 7, taking the terminal device as a UE as an example, in one example, the UE may be a zero-power terminal device, such as a zero-power IoT UE or a zero-power AIoT UE; the access network device is represented as a radio access network (RAN), the core network device is an AMF, and other core network devices include NEF and SMF as an example. The communication method provided in the aforementioned embodiment is exemplarily described, including:

[0157] S701: When a target AF has a data collection requirement, the target AF sends a third request to the NEF. The third request carries first configuration information, a service ID, and a service area. The first configuration information includes a first response duration.

[0158] It should be understood that, in another example, the third request may not carry the first configuration information, but may carry second configuration information, the second configuration information being related to the first configuration information and including the second response duration. This situation is not illustrated in FIG7 for simplicity.

[0159] In addition, the first configuration information may carry not only the first response duration, but also first indication information for instructing the generation of a random number. The specific description of the first configuration information is the same as that of the above embodiment, and thus will not be repeated.

[0160] The aforementioned response time may also be expressed as a response time range. All possible names of the response time are not exhaustively listed here.

[0161] S702. NEF sends a fourth request to SMF, where the fourth request carries the first configuration information, service ID, and service area; the first configuration information includes the first response duration.

[0162] Specifically, it may include: when NEF determines based on the third request that the target AF is allowed to perform business through 5GC, NEF sends the fourth request to SMF. The specific processing method is the same as the above embodiment, for example, it may be: NEF can determine based on the ID of the target AF that the target AF is a preset AF that allows business data transmission through 5GC, and NEF determines based on the service (Service) identifier (ID) that the business is a preset business that allows data transmission through 5GC, NEF selects SMF from multiple candidate SMFs according to the business identifier and / or business area in the third request, and sends the fourth request to the selected SMF.

[0163] In addition, the first configuration information may carry not only the first response duration, but also first indication information for instructing the generation of a random number. The specific description of the first configuration information is the same as that of the above embodiment, and thus will not be repeated.

[0164] S703. SMF sends a second request to AMF, which carries the first configuration information, service ID, and service area; the first configuration information includes the first response duration.

[0165] Specifically, the SMF may include: determining an AMF from multiple candidate AMFs based on the first correspondence and the service identifier and / or service area in the second request, and sending the second request to the AMF. The first correspondence may refer to: the candidate service identifier and / or candidate service area corresponding to each candidate AMF among the multiple candidate AMFs.

[0166] In addition, the first configuration information may carry not only the first response duration, but also first indication information for instructing the generation of a random number. The specific description of the first configuration information is the same as that of the above embodiment, and thus will not be repeated.

[0167] S704. The AMF sends a first request to the RAN. The first request carries first configuration information, where the first configuration information includes a first response duration.

[0168] In addition to the aforementioned first configuration information, the first request may also carry second indication information, where the second indication information includes the UE IDs of one or more AioT UEs to be triggered; the one or more AioT UEs to be triggered may include the aforementioned UE. It should be noted that if the first request carries the second indication information, the RAN may only trigger the corresponding AioT UE. If the first request does not carry the second indication information, the RAN triggers all AioT UEs within its coverage area.

[0169] S705: RAN sends a trigger signal, where the trigger signal carries first configuration information.

[0170] S706. The UE determines a waiting time based on the first configuration information.

[0171] Specifically, the UE receives a trigger signal, and the UE determines the waiting time based on the first configuration information carried in the trigger signal. The UE receiving the trigger signal means that the AS of the UE receives the trigger signal sent by the RAN.

[0172] In one scenario, if the UE subsequently needs to perform a service request process, the UE's AS sends first configuration information to the UE's NAS layer; the UE's NAS layer determines a waiting time based on the first configuration information. Furthermore, the UE's NAS layer adds the waiting time based on the time of receipt of the trigger signal to obtain the first time.

[0173] In another case, if the UE does not need to perform the service request process subsequently, that is, the UE's AS directly reports data, the UE's AS determines the waiting time based on the first configuration information. Further, the UE's AS increases the waiting time based on the time of receiving the trigger signal to obtain the first time.

[0174] Regarding whether the UE needs to perform the service request (Service Request) process subsequently, it can be pre-set or pre-determined, and it is not limited here; the purpose of the aforementioned execution of the service request (Service Request) process is to enable the UE to establish a NAS connection with the AMF.

[0175] The processing of the waiting time is the same as that in the above embodiment, so it will not be repeated.

[0176] After completing the aforementioned S706, the following processing of S707a may be executed, or the processing of S707b may be executed:

[0177] S707a. The AS of the UE reports data to the RAN at the first moment, and the RAN sends the data to the AMF.

[0178] S707b. The NAS of the UE establishes a NAS connection with the AMF at the first moment and reports data to the AMF through the NAS connection.

[0179] It should be understood that after the above-mentioned S707a is completed, or after the above-mentioned S707b is completed, the AMF can also send data to the target AF through the NEF and SMF. For the sake of simplicity, this part of the process is not illustrated in Figure 7.

[0180] It should be noted that, although not illustrated in Figure 7 for simplicity, there is another possible example in which, if the UE does not subsequently need to perform the Service Request process, the trigger signal sent by the RAN in S705 may not carry the first configuration information. After receiving the trigger signal, the UE's AS collects data, and then the UE's AS directly reports the data to the RAN. Correspondingly, after the RAN receives the data reported by the UE, it sends the UE's data to the AMF when the data transmission time arrives. The detailed description of this situation is the same as the aforementioned embodiment. In this example, whether the UE subsequently needs to perform the Service Request process may be known in advance by the RAN, for example, it may be sent to the RAN in advance by the UE, or it may be preset, or it may be determined in advance by negotiation between the RAN and the UE. This embodiment does not limit this.

[0181] In conjunction with the aforementioned implementation, it can be seen that after receiving the trigger signal, the terminal device will wait until the first moment arrives before reporting data. This allows the terminal device to not report data immediately after receiving the trigger signal, and the terminal device can determine the waiting time itself. Therefore, the network can receive data reported by the terminal device at different times, thereby avoiding the problem of network congestion or paralysis caused by receiving data from a large number of terminals at once, and ensuring that the network can normally receive data reported by the terminal device.

[0182] In some possible implementations, the terminal device pre-registers with the core network and obtains the first configuration information; then, when the network side has a data collection requirement, the core network side device triggers the access network device to send a trigger signal, and the trigger signal does not carry the first configuration information. Specifically:

[0183] Before the terminal device receives the trigger signal, the method may further include: the terminal device receiving first configuration information; wherein the first configuration information is used to determine the waiting time. Specifically, the terminal device receiving the first configuration information includes: the NAS of the terminal device receiving the first configuration information sent by the core network device.

[0184] The processing of the core network device sending the first configuration information may include: the core network device sending the first configuration information to the terminal device; the first configuration information is used to determine the waiting time.

[0185] The aforementioned first configuration information may include a first response duration. Furthermore, the first configuration information may also include first indication information, where the first indication information is used to instruct the generation of a random number based on the first response duration. The detailed description of the first response duration and the first indication information is the same as in the aforementioned embodiment and is not repeated here.

[0186] Before the aforementioned terminal device receives the first configuration information, it may also include: the terminal device sends capability information, and the capability information is used to indicate whether the terminal device supports the Ambient IoT capability based on energy harvesting. Correspondingly, before the core network device sends the first configuration information to the terminal device, it may also include: the core network device receives the capability information of the terminal device, and the capability information of the terminal device is used to indicate whether the terminal device supports the Ambient IoT capability based on energy harvesting.

[0187] Here, the Ambient IoT capability may also be described as a capability of data collection in the Ambient IoT, or a capability of data collection and reporting in the Ambient IoT, etc., which is not limited here.

[0188] The aforementioned capability information may be sent to the core network device. For example, the terminal device sending capability information specifically refers to: the terminal device sending capability information to the core network device; the capability information may be carried by any type of NAS message. For another example, the terminal device sending capability information may refer to the terminal device sending capability information to the access network device, and the access network device sends the capability information to the core network device; when the aforementioned terminal device sends capability information to the access network device, it may be carried by air interface signaling, such as RRC (Radio Resource Control) signaling, MAC (Medium Access Control) CE (Control Element), etc.

[0189] In a preferred example, the first configuration information is obtained during the registration process of the terminal device and is specifically carried by a registration acceptance message.

[0190] The terminal device sending capability information includes: the NAS of the terminal device sending a registration request message to the core network device; the registration request message carries the capability information. Correspondingly, the core network device receiving the capability information of the terminal device includes: the core network device receiving the registration request message sent by the terminal device; the registration request message carries the capability information of the terminal device.

[0191] In this example, the registration request message may specifically include an indication of whether the terminal device supports the Ambient IoT capability; the indication may be a bit in the 5G system mobility management (5GS Mobility Management, 5GMM) capability parameter, that is, a specified bit may be defined in the 5GMM capability parameter to indicate whether the terminal device supports the Ambient IoT capability. Furthermore, the value of the bit may be used to indicate whether the terminal device supports the Ambient IoT capability. For example, if the value of the bit is the first value, it indicates that the terminal device supports the Ambient IoT capability. If the value of the bit is the second value, it indicates that the terminal device does not support the Ambient IoT capability. The first value and the second value are different. For example, the first value may be 1 and the second value may be 0, or the first value may be 0 and the second value may be 1. This is not limited here.

[0192] In this example, after the core network device receives the capability information of the terminal device, the core network device sends the first configuration information to the terminal device. The core network device sends the first configuration information to the terminal device, including: when the core network device determines that the terminal device supports the Ambient IoT capability based on the capability information of the terminal device, the core network device sends the registration acceptance message to the terminal device; the registration acceptance message carries the first configuration information. Correspondingly, the NAS of the terminal device receives the first configuration information sent by the core network device, including: when the NAS of the terminal device sends a registration request message to the access network device, the NAS of the terminal device receives the registration acceptance message sent by the core network device; the registration acceptance message carries the first configuration information.

[0193] When the core network device determines that the terminal device supports the Ambient IoT capability based on the capability information of the terminal device, the core network device sends the registration acceptance message to the terminal device, including: when the core network device determines that the terminal device supports the Ambient IoT capability based on the capability information of the terminal device, the core network device determines whether to authorize the terminal device to access the network as an Ambient IoT terminal based on the contract information of the terminal device; if authorization is determined, the registration acceptance message is sent to the terminal device; the registration acceptance message carries the first configuration information. Here, the contract information of the terminal device can be preset in the core network device. Regarding the method of obtaining the contract information of the terminal device, this embodiment does not limit it.

[0194] The core network device sends the first configuration information to the terminal device, including: when the core network device receives the registration request message sent by the terminal device, the core network device sends a registration acceptance message to the terminal device; the registration acceptance message carries the first configuration information.

[0195] In another example, the first configuration information is carried in a NAS message after the terminal device completes registration.

[0196] The terminal device sends capability information, including: the NAS of the terminal device sends a registration request message to the core network device; the registration request message carries the capability information. Correspondingly, the core network device receives the capability information of the terminal device, including: the core network device receives the registration request message sent by the terminal device; the registration request message carries the capability information of the terminal device. The registration request message may specifically include an indication of whether the terminal device supports Ambient IoT capabilities. The specific description is the same as the above example and is not repeated here.

[0197] Unlike the previous example, the core network device in this example performs registration processing based solely on the terminal device's capability information. Specifically, upon determining that the terminal device supports Ambient IoT capabilities based on the terminal device's capability information, the core network device determines whether to authorize the terminal device to access the network as an Ambient IoT terminal based on the terminal device's contract information. If authorization is determined, the core network device sends the registration acceptance message to the terminal device. This registration acceptance message does not carry the first configuration information.

[0198] The core network device sending the first configuration information to the terminal device includes: after the terminal device completes registration, the core network device sending a NAS message to the terminal device; the NAS message carries the first configuration information. Correspondingly, the non-access NAS of the terminal device receiving the first configuration information sent by the core network device includes: after the terminal device completes registration, the NAS of the terminal device receiving the NAS message sent by the core network device; the NAS message carries the first configuration information.

[0199] Here, the NAS message may be any NAS message sent by the core network device to the terminal device after the terminal device completes registration, and is not limited here.

[0200] Regarding the process of determining the waiting time by the terminal device, the following description is provided: If the terminal device determines that the service request process does not need to be executed, the terminal device's processing may further include: the terminal device's NAS sending the first configuration information to the terminal device's AS. Furthermore, the terminal device's AS may also determine the waiting time based on the first configuration information.

[0201] If the terminal device determines that the service request process needs to be executed, the processing of the terminal device may further include: the NAS of the terminal device determines the waiting time based on the first configuration information.

[0202] Based on the processing of the aforementioned embodiment, the terminal device can obtain the first configuration information. Regarding the timing of the terminal device determining the waiting time, the waiting time can be determined after receiving the first configuration information, or the waiting time can be determined based on the first configuration information when a trigger signal is received, both of which are within the scope of protection of this embodiment.

[0203] Next, we will explain how to trigger the terminal device to report data:

[0204] The core network device sends a first request to the access network device, including: when the core network device receives the second request, the core network device sends the first request to the access network device; the second request is used to instruct the core network device to send the first request.

[0205] The access network device sends a trigger signal, comprising: when the access network device receives a first request sent by a core network device, the access network device sends the trigger signal to the terminal device.

[0206] The terminal device receiving the trigger signal includes: the terminal device receiving the trigger signal sent by the access network device. Specifically, the terminal device receiving the trigger signal means that the AS of the terminal device receives the trigger signal sent by the access network device.

[0207] The second request indicates that the target AF needs to obtain data or needs to collect data. Specifically, the second request indicates that the target AF needs to trigger the core network device to send the first request to obtain data. The second request may carry at least one of a service identifier (ID) and a service area (area); further, the second request may also carry the ID of the target AF.

[0208] The processing of the core network device receiving the second request is the same as that in the aforementioned embodiment and will not be repeated here. The difference from the aforementioned embodiment is that the second request does not carry the first configuration information or the second configuration information. In addition, when the core network device receives the second request from other core network devices, the processing between the other core network devices and the target AF is also the same as that in the aforementioned embodiment. The only difference is that the third request, the fourth request, and the fifth request do not carry the first configuration information and do not carry the second configuration information. The specific processing flow will not be repeated here.

[0209] The first request may carry second indication information, wherein the second indication information includes identification information corresponding to one or more devices to be triggered; the one or more devices to be triggered include the terminal device. The description of the second indication information is the same as that in the previous embodiment and is not repeated here.

[0210] In one embodiment, the first request may further carry first configuration information, where the first configuration information is used to determine the waiting time. Since the core network device has previously generated the first configuration information and sent the first configuration information to the terminal device, upon receiving the second request, the core network device may obtain the first configuration information corresponding to the terminal device stored in its own storage, and send the first configuration information to the access network device by carrying it in the first request.

[0211] In this embodiment, the access network device may determine the duration of waiting for the terminal device to report data based on the first response duration in the first configuration information. If the duration exceeds the first response duration, the access network device may no longer wait for the terminal device to report data. The duration of waiting for the terminal device to report data may be greater than the first response duration. For example, it may be the first response duration plus a third specified duration. The third specified duration may be preset and is not limited herein. Alternatively, the duration of waiting for the terminal device to report data may be equal to the first response duration.

[0212] In another embodiment, the first request may not include the first configuration information. This is because the core network device has already sent the first configuration information to the terminal device and therefore does not need to send the first configuration information to the access network device again. Instead, the terminal device itself determines the first time to report data. In this embodiment, upon receiving the second request, the core network device sends the first request to the access network device without the first configuration information. In this embodiment, the access network device can continue to wait for the terminal device to report data.

[0213] After receiving the aforementioned first request, the access network device may send a trigger signal to the terminal device. In this embodiment, the trigger signal does not carry the first configuration information. The trigger signal is one of the following: a paging message, a broadcast signal. Optionally, the trigger signal is a paging message. Specifically, the trigger signal may reuse the paging message in the related technology, that is, a trigger signal for triggering the terminal device to report data is added to the paging message. If the trigger signal is a paging message, the trigger signal is a signal that can be received by the corresponding device. Optionally, the trigger signal is a broadcast signal. At this time, the broadcast signal may be a signal different from the broadcast signal specified in the relevant protocol. If the trigger signal is a broadcast signal, the trigger signal is a signal that can be received by all devices within the coverage range of the access network device. The detailed description of whether the trigger signal is a paging message or a broadcast signal is the same as that in the aforementioned embodiment, so it will not be repeated.

[0214] The above processing is for the core network device to send a first request, and the access network device sends a trigger signal to the terminal device after receiving the first request. After the AS of the aforementioned terminal device receives the trigger signal sent by the access network device, it can perform data collection and processing to obtain data, and then the terminal device reports the data at the first moment. In other words, as long as the terminal device receives the trigger signal, it can perform data collection and obtain data, and then only at the first moment will it report the collected data. Here, the way in which the terminal device performs data collection and processing to obtain data is the same as in the aforementioned embodiment, and will not be repeated.

[0215] The terminal device reporting data at the first moment may be: the NAS of the terminal device establishing a NAS connection with the core network device at the first moment, and reporting the data to the core network device via the NAS connection. Alternatively, the terminal device reporting data at the first moment may be: the AS of the terminal device reporting the data to the access network device at the first moment.

[0216] Correspondingly, the core network device receives the data reported by the terminal device, including: the core network device establishes a NAS connection with the terminal device and receives the data reported by the terminal device through the NAS connection; or, the core network device receives the data reported by the terminal device through the access network device.

[0217] The first moment is the moment obtained by adding the waiting time to the moment of receiving the trigger signal. That is, the terminal device adds the waiting time based on the moment of receiving the trigger signal to obtain the first moment.

[0218] Whether the terminal device reports data from NAS to the core network device or from AS to the access network device can be pre-configured or determined by the terminal device itself. The detailed description is the same as that in the previous embodiment and will not be repeated here.

[0219] In one embodiment, the terminal device reports data at a first moment, including: the NAS of the terminal device establishes a NAS connection with a core network device at the first moment, and reports the data to the core network device via the NAS connection. Correspondingly, the core network device receives the data reported by the terminal device, including: the core network device establishes a NAS connection with the terminal device, and receives the data reported by the terminal device via the NAS connection.

[0220] The establishment of a NAS connection with the core network device and the establishment of a NAS connection between the core network device and the terminal device may be performed by the terminal device and the core network device through a service request process. The specific processing of the service request process between the terminal device and the core network device is not limited in this embodiment.

[0221] It should be noted that the NAS of the terminal device may determine the waiting time based on the first configuration information only after the AS receives the trigger signal; or the NAS layer of the terminal device may have already determined the waiting time based on the first configuration information after receiving the first configuration information but before the AS receives the trigger signal. The description of the waiting time and the description of the NAS of the terminal device determining the waiting time based on the first configuration information have been detailed in the aforementioned embodiments and are not repeated here.

[0222] Furthermore, if the terminal device determines to report data to the core network device through NAS, then after the AS of the aforementioned terminal device receives the trigger signal sent by the access network device, it may also include: the NAS of the terminal device increases the waiting time based on the reception time of the trigger signal to obtain the first time.

[0223] On the core network device side of this embodiment, the receiving time of the data is the time after the waiting time is added to the sending time of the first request. Since the terminal device reports data directly to the core network device, and the data is reported at the first moment after the terminal device has added the waiting time to the receiving time of the trigger signal, the time between the sending time of the first request sent by the core network device and the receiving time of the data must not be less than the aforementioned waiting time. Specifically, the receiving time of the data may be equal to the sending time of the first request plus the waiting time; or, due to the delay caused by the transmission or the delay caused by other network requests, the receiving time of the data may be later than the sending time of the first request plus the waiting time. In either case, the time when the core network device side receives the data reported by the terminal device is after the sending time of the first request plus the waiting time.

[0224] In this embodiment, the core network device may also determine the waiting time, and the process may include: determining the waiting time based on the first configuration information. It should be understood that the process of the core network device determining the waiting time is the same as the process of the NAS or AS of the terminal device determining the waiting time based on the first configuration information. For example, if the terminal device adopts the default first policy, the corresponding core network device may also adopt the same default first policy, which will not be described in detail here.

[0225] In one embodiment, the terminal device reports data at a first moment, including: the AS of the terminal device reports data to the access network device at the first moment.

[0226] Correspondingly, the processing of the access network device may include: the access network device receiving data reported by the terminal device and sending the data to the core network device.

[0227] The processing of the core network device includes: the core network device receiving data reported by the terminal device. Specifically, the core network device receiving data reported by the terminal device includes: the core network device receiving the data reported by the terminal device through the access network device.

[0228] In this embodiment, upon receiving the first configuration information, the NAS layer of the terminal device may send the first configuration information to the AS of the terminal device. Alternatively, upon receiving a trigger signal, the NAS layer of the terminal device may send the first configuration information to the AS of the terminal device. Alternatively, upon receiving a trigger signal, the AS of the terminal device may obtain the first configuration information from the NAS layer of the terminal device.

[0229] If the NAS layer of the terminal device can send the first configuration information to the AS of the terminal device when it receives the first configuration information, the AS of the terminal device may determine the waiting time based on the first configuration information after the AS receives the trigger signal; or, the AS of the terminal device determines the waiting time based on the first configuration information when it receives the first configuration information.

[0230] If the AS of the terminal device receives the trigger signal, the NAS layer of the terminal device sends the first configuration information to the AS of the terminal device. Then, upon receiving the first configuration information, the AS of the terminal device determines the waiting time based on the first configuration information. The description of the waiting time and the description of the AS of the terminal device determining the waiting time based on the first configuration information have been detailed in the aforementioned embodiment and are not repeated here.

[0231] Furthermore, if the terminal device determines to report data to the access network device through the AS, after the AS of the aforementioned terminal device receives the trigger signal sent by the access network device, it may also include: the AS of the terminal device increases the waiting time based on the reception time of the trigger signal to obtain the first moment.

[0232] The AS of the terminal device reports data to the access network device at the first moment. Accordingly, the access network device receives the data reported by the terminal device and sends the data to the core network device. Specifically, upon receiving the data reported by the terminal device, the access network device directly sends the data to the core network device. In other words, as soon as the access network device receives the data reported by the terminal device, it sends the data to the core network device.

[0233] In this embodiment, in the process of the access network device sending the data to the core network device, the sending time of the data may be the time after the sending time of the trigger signal is increased by the waiting time. Since the data is reported at the first moment after the terminal device has increased the waiting time at the receiving time of the trigger signal, the time between the sending time of the access network device sending the trigger signal and the sending time of the data must not be less than the aforementioned waiting time. Specifically, the sending time of the data may be equal to the sending time of the trigger signal plus the waiting time, or the sending time of the data may be later than the sending time of the trigger signal plus the waiting time. In either case, the time when the aforementioned access network device sends data to the core network device is after the sending time of the trigger signal plus the waiting time.

[0234] The core network device receives the data reported by the terminal device through the access network device. Similarly, on the core network device side, the receiving time of the data is the time after the waiting time is added to the sending time of the first request. This is because the terminal device reports the data at the first moment after the waiting time is added to the receiving time of the trigger signal. Therefore, the sending time of the access network device to the core network device is also after the sending time of the trigger signal is added to the waiting time. Accordingly, the time between the sending time of the first request sent by the core network device and the receiving time of the data must not be less than the aforementioned waiting time. Specifically, the receiving time of the data may be equal to the sending time of the first request plus the waiting time; or, due to the delay caused by the transmission or the delay caused by other network requests, the receiving time of the data may be later than the sending time of the first request plus the waiting time. In either case, the time when the core network device receives the data is after the sending time of the first request plus the waiting time.

[0235] In this embodiment, if the first request received by the access network device carries the first configuration information, the processing of the access network device may also include: determining the waiting time based on the first configuration information. Similarly, the processing of the core network device may also include: determining the waiting time based on the first configuration information. Furthermore, the access network device waits for the terminal device to report data before increasing the waiting time at the time of sending the trigger signal, and will no longer wait for the terminal device to report data at the rest of the time. The processing of the access network device and the core network device to determine the waiting time respectively should be the same as the processing of the terminal device to determine the waiting time, so it will not be repeated.

[0236] In conjunction with Figure 8, taking the terminal device as a UE as an example, in one example, the UE may be a zero-power terminal device, such as a zero-power IoT UE or a zero-power AIoT UE; taking the access network device as a wireless access network, the core network device as an AMF, and other core network devices including NEF and SMF as an example, another exemplary description of the communication method provided in the aforementioned embodiment is provided, including:

[0237] S801. The UE sends a registration request message to the AMF, which carries an Ambient IoT capability indication. The indication may be a bit in the 5GMM capability parameter. For example, a value of 0 indicates that the Ambient IoT capability is not supported, and a value of 1 indicates that the Ambient IoT capability is supported.

[0238] S802. The AMF sends a registration accept message to the UE. The registration accept message carries first configuration information, where the first configuration information includes a first response duration.

[0239] Furthermore, the first configuration information may also include first indication information, where the first indication information is used to instruct to generate a random number based on the first response duration.

[0240] Specifically, when the AMF determines that the UE supports IoT data collection based on the UE's capability information, the AMF determines whether to authorize the UE to access the network as an Ambient IoT terminal based on the UE's contract information; if authorization is determined, the AMF carries the first configuration information in the registration acceptance message, and the first configuration information carries the first response time, which can also be called the first response timer range.

[0241] For example, the first response timer range can be in milliseconds and indicates the time range before the UE responds to the trigger signal, thereby staggering the response times of different UEs and avoiding congestion. Furthermore, the first configuration information can also include an indication of whether the UE is required to generate a random number. If no such indication is given, the UE directly uses the range as the waiting time.

[0242] Furthermore, if the UE does not need to perform the service request process and can directly reply data in the AS, the NAS layer of the UE will send the first configuration information to the AS of the UE.

[0243] S803: When there is a data collection requirement, the target AF sends a third request to the NEF. The third request carries a service ID and a service area.

[0244] In some possible examples, the third request may also be referred to as a data collection request.

[0245] S804. NEF sends a fourth request to SMF. The fourth request carries service ID and service area.

[0246] Specifically, the NEF determines whether the service indicated by the target AF or service ID is allowed to be carried out through the 5GC. If allowed, the NEF selects the corresponding SMF based on the service ID and service area, and sends the third request to the SMF.

[0247] S805. SMF sends a second request to AMF, where the second request carries service ID and service area.

[0248] Specifically, the SMF selects the corresponding AMF according to the service ID, service area in the second request and the first correspondence previously saved, and sends the second request to the AMF, with the service ID and service area carried in the request.

[0249] S806. The AMF sends a first request to the RAN. The first request carries first configuration information, where the first configuration information includes a first response duration.

[0250] Specifically, the AMF sends the first request to the RAN within the service area.

[0251] The first request is used to trigger the RAN to collect data. Specifically, the first request is used to trigger the RAN to send a trigger signal. The first response duration can be used to indicate the time allowed for the RAN to wait for the UE to respond. The first configuration information in the first request can also carry first indication information, which can also be called AioT indication (indication). The first indication information is used to indicate the AioT UE that the RAN needs to trigger. Specifically, the first indication information includes one or more UE IDs corresponding to the AioT UEs that need to be triggered.

[0252] It should also be noted that, in another example, the first request may be used only to instruct the RAN to send a trigger signal, that is, the first request may not carry the first indication information, and may not carry the first configuration information.

[0253] S807: RAN sends a trigger signal.

[0254] Specifically, if the first request includes UE IDs of one or more AioT UEs that need to be triggered, the trigger signal may be sent to the corresponding one or more AioT UEs, and the one or more AioT UEs may include the UE.

[0255] The trigger signal may be a reused existing paging message or a new broadcast signal.

[0256] After completing S807, the processing on the UE side may include: the UE determines the waiting time based on the first configuration information, and then the UE reports the data. Specifically, the UE may execute S808a and S809a, or execute S808b and S809b:

[0257] In one scenario, at S808a, if the UE subsequently needs to perform a service request procedure, the NAS layer of the UE determines a waiting time based on the first configuration information. Furthermore, the NAS layer of the UE adds the waiting time based on the time at which the trigger signal was received to obtain the first time. The specific method for determining the waiting time has been described in detail in the aforementioned embodiment and is not further elaborated here.

[0258] S809a. The NAS of the UE establishes a NAS connection with the AMF at the first moment and reports data to the AMF through the NAS connection.

[0259] In another scenario, at S808b, if the UE does not subsequently need to perform the service request process, the UE's AS determines a waiting time based on the first configuration information. Furthermore, the UE's AS adds the waiting time based on the time at which the trigger signal was received to obtain the first time. The specific method for determining the waiting time has been described in detail in the aforementioned embodiment and is not further elaborated here.

[0260] S809b. The AS of the UE reports the data to the RAN at the first moment, and the RAN sends the data to the AMF.

[0261] It should be understood that after the above-mentioned S809a is completed, or after the above-mentioned S809b is completed, the AMF can also send data to the target AF through the NEF and SMF. For the sake of simplicity, this part of the process is not illustrated in Figure 8.

[0262] In conjunction with the aforementioned embodiment, after receiving a trigger signal, the terminal device will wait until the first moment arrives before reporting data. This allows the terminal device to not report data immediately after receiving the trigger signal, and the terminal device can determine the waiting time itself. Therefore, the network can receive data reported by the terminal device at different times, thereby avoiding network congestion or paralysis that may be caused by the network receiving data from a large number of terminals at the same time, and ensuring that the network can normally receive data reported by the terminal device.

[0263] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present application, including:

[0264] The first communication unit 901 is configured to receive a trigger signal and report data;

[0265] The first processing unit 902 is configured to control the first communication unit to report data at a first moment; wherein the first moment is related to a waiting time.

[0266] The first moment is the moment obtained by adding the waiting time to the moment of receiving the trigger signal.

[0267] As shown in FIG10 , the first communication unit 901 includes: a first AS communication subunit 1011 , configured to receive the trigger signal sent by the access network device.

[0268] It should be noted that the first AS communication subunit may be a communication subunit in the AS of the terminal device.

[0269] The trigger signal carries first configuration information, and the first configuration information is used to determine the waiting time.

[0270] The first processing unit 902 includes: a first NAS processing subunit 1021, configured to determine the waiting time based on the first configuration information;

[0271] The first AS communication subunit 1011 is configured to send the first configuration information to the first NAS processing subunit.

[0272] It should be noted that the first NAS processing subunit may be a processing subunit in the NAS layer of the terminal device. The first AS communication subunit may be a communication subunit in the AS of the terminal device.

[0273] The first communication unit is configured to receive first configuration information before receiving the first configuration information; wherein the first configuration information is used to determine the waiting time.

[0274] The first communication unit is used to send capability information before receiving the first configuration information, where the capability information is used to indicate whether the terminal device supports the Ambient IoT capability based on energy harvesting.

[0275] The first communication unit 901 includes: a first NAS communication subunit 1012, configured to receive the first configuration information sent by the core network device.

[0276] It should be noted that the first NAS communication subunit may be a communication subunit in the NAS layer of the terminal device.

[0277] The first NAS communication subunit is configured to send a registration request message to the core network device; the registration request message carries the capability information.

[0278] The first NAS communication subunit is configured to receive a registration acceptance message sent by the core network device; the registration acceptance message carries the first configuration information.

[0279] The first NAS communication subunit is used to receive a NAS message sent by the core network device after the terminal device completes registration; the NAS message carries the first configuration information.

[0280] The first processing unit 902 includes: a first NAS processing subunit 1021, configured to determine the waiting time based on the first configuration information.

[0281] The first processing unit 902 further includes: a first AS processing subunit 1022, configured to obtain first configuration information from the first NAS communication subunit;

[0282] The first NAS communication subunit 1012 is configured to send the first configuration information to the first AS communication subunit.

[0283] The first processing unit further includes: a first AS processing subunit, configured to determine the waiting time based on the first configuration information.

[0284] The first communication unit includes: a first NAS communication subunit, configured to establish a NAS connection with a core network device at a first moment, and report the data to the core network device through the NAS connection.

[0285] The first communication unit includes: a first AS communication subunit, configured to report data to the access network device at a first moment.

[0286] The first configuration information includes a first response duration.

[0287] The first configuration information also includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate generating a random number based on the first response duration.

[0288] The waiting time is equal to the first response time.

[0289] The waiting time is a first random number determined based on the first response time, and the first random number is less than or equal to the first response time.

[0290] The trigger signal is one of the following: a paging message, a broadcast signal.

[0291] The terminal device is an Internet of Things (IoT) terminal device, or an Ambient IoT terminal device.

[0292] The core network device is the access and mobility management network element AMF.

[0293] The terminal device of the embodiment of the present application can implement the corresponding functions of the terminal device in the aforementioned method embodiment. The processes, functions, implementation methods and beneficial effects corresponding to the various modules (sub-modules, units or components, etc.) in the terminal device can be found in the corresponding descriptions in the above-mentioned method embodiments, which will not be repeated here. The functions described by the various modules (sub-modules, units or components, etc.) in the terminal device of the embodiment of the application can be implemented by different modules (sub-modules, units or components, etc.) or by the same module (sub-module, unit or component, etc.).

[0294] FIG11 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a core network device according to an embodiment of the present application, including:

[0295] The second communication unit 1101 is used to send a first request to the access network device; wherein the first request is used to instruct the access network device to send a trigger signal; and receive data reported by the terminal device; wherein the receiving time of the data is related to the waiting time.

[0296] The data receiving time is the time obtained by adding the waiting time to the sending time of the first request.

[0297] The second communication unit is configured to send the first request to the access network device upon receiving the second request; wherein the second request is used to instruct the sending of the first request.

[0298] The first request carries second indication information, and the second indication information includes identification information corresponding to one or more devices that need to be triggered; the one or more devices that need to be triggered include the terminal device.

[0299] The first request carries first configuration information, and the first configuration information is used to determine the waiting time.

[0300] The second request carries the first configuration information; or the second request carries second configuration information, and the second configuration information is related to the first configuration information.

[0301] The second communication unit is used to send first configuration information to the terminal device before sending the first request to the access network device; the first configuration information is used to determine the waiting time.

[0302] The second communication unit is used to receive capability information of the terminal device before sending the first configuration information to the terminal device, where the capability information of the terminal device is used to indicate whether the terminal device supports Ambient IoT capability based on energy harvesting.

[0303] The second communication unit is used to receive a registration request message sent by a terminal device; the registration request message carries capability information of the terminal device.

[0304] As shown in Figure 12, the core network device further includes: a second processing unit 1102, configured to send the registration acceptance message to the terminal device through the second communication unit when it is determined that the terminal device supports the Ambient IoT capability based on the capability information of the terminal device; the registration acceptance message carries the first configuration information;

[0305] The second communication unit 1101 is configured to send the registration acceptance message to the terminal device.

[0306] The second communication unit is used to send a NAS message to the terminal device after the terminal device completes registration; the NAS message carries the first configuration information.

[0307] The second communication unit is configured to establish a NAS connection with the terminal device and receive data reported by the terminal device through the NAS connection; or receive data reported by the terminal device through the access network device.

[0308] The first configuration information includes a first response duration.

[0309] The first configuration information also includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate generating a random number based on the first response duration.

[0310] The waiting time is equal to the first response time.

[0311] The waiting time is a first random number determined based on the first response time, and the first random number is less than or equal to the first response time.

[0312] The terminal device is an Internet of Things (IoT) terminal device, or an Ambient IoT terminal device.

[0313] The core network device is the access and mobility management network element AMF.

[0314] The core network device of the embodiment of the present application can implement the corresponding functions of the core network device in the aforementioned method embodiment. The processes, functions, implementation methods and beneficial effects corresponding to each module (sub-module, unit or component, etc.) in the core network device can be found in the corresponding description in the above method embodiment, and will not be repeated here. The functions described in the various modules (sub-module, unit or component, etc.) in the core network device of the application embodiment can be implemented by different modules (sub-module, unit or component, etc.), or by the same module (sub-module, unit or component, etc.).

[0315] FIG13 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an access network device according to an embodiment of the present application, including:

[0316] The third communication unit 1301 is used to send a trigger signal; and receive data reported by the terminal device, and send the data to the core network device; wherein the sending time of the data is related to the waiting time.

[0317] The sending time of the data is the time obtained by adding the waiting time to the sending time of the trigger signal.

[0318] The third communication unit is used to send the trigger signal to the terminal device when receiving the first request sent by the core network device.

[0319] The first request carries second indication information, and the second indication information includes identification information corresponding to one or more devices that need to be triggered; the one or more devices that need to be triggered include the terminal device.

[0320] The first request carries first configuration information, and the first configuration information is used to determine the waiting time.

[0321] The trigger signal carries the first configuration information.

[0322] As shown in FIG14 , the access network device further includes: a third processing unit 1302 , configured to determine the waiting time based on the first configuration information.

[0323] The third communication unit is used to receive data reported by the terminal device; when the data sending time arrives, send the data to the core network device.

[0324] The first configuration information includes a first response duration.

[0325] The first configuration information also includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate generating a random number based on the first response duration.

[0326] The waiting time is equal to the first response time.

[0327] The waiting time is a first random number determined based on the first response time, and the first random number is less than or equal to the first response time.

[0328] The terminal device is an IoT terminal device, or an Ambient IoT terminal device based on energy harvesting.

[0329] The core network device is AMF.

[0330] The trigger signal is one of the following: a paging message, a broadcast signal.

[0331] The access network device of the embodiment of the present application can implement the corresponding functions of the access network device in the aforementioned method embodiment. The corresponding processes, functions, implementation methods and beneficial effects of each module (sub-module, unit or component, etc.) in the access network device can be found in the corresponding description in the above method embodiment, and will not be repeated here. The functions described in the various modules (sub-module, unit or component, etc.) in the access network device of the embodiment of the application can be implemented by different modules (sub-module, unit or component, etc.) or by the same module (sub-module, unit or component, etc.).

[0332] Figure 15 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 1500 according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 1500 includes a processor 1510, and the processor 1520 can call and run a computer program from a memory to enable the communication device 1500 to implement the method in the embodiment of the present application.

[0333] In a possible implementation, the communication device 1500 may further include a memory 1520. The processor 1510 may call and execute a computer program from the memory 1520 to enable the communication device 1500 to implement the method in the embodiment of the present application.

[0334] The memory 1520 may be a separate device independent of the processor 1510 , or may be integrated into the processor 1510 .

[0335] In one possible implementation, the communication device 1500 may further include a transceiver 1530 , and the processor 1510 may control the transceiver 1530 to communicate with other devices. Specifically, the transceiver 1530 may send information or data to other devices, or receive information or data sent by other devices.

[0336] The transceiver 1530 may include a transmitter and a receiver. The transceiver 1530 may further include an antenna, and the number of antennas may be one or more.

[0337] In one possible implementation, the communication device 1500 may be an access network device of an embodiment of the present application, and the communication device 1500 may implement the corresponding processes implemented by the access network device in each method of the embodiment of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they will not be described in detail here. In one possible implementation, the communication device 1500 may be a core network device of an embodiment of the present application, and the communication device 1500 may implement the corresponding processes implemented by the core network device in each method of the embodiment of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they will not be described in detail here. In one possible implementation, the communication device 1500 may be a terminal device of an embodiment of the present application, and the communication device 1500 may implement the corresponding processes implemented by the terminal device in each method of the embodiment of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they will not be described in detail here.

[0338] 16 is a schematic structural diagram of a chip 1600 according to an embodiment of the present application. The chip 1600 includes a processor 1610, which can call and execute a computer program from a memory to implement the method according to the embodiment of the present application.

[0339] In one possible implementation, the chip 1600 may further include a memory 1620. The processor 1610 may call and execute a computer program from the memory 1620 to implement the method executed by the access network device or the core network device in the embodiment of the present application.

[0340] The memory 1620 may be a separate device independent of the processor 1610 , or may be integrated into the processor 1610 .

[0341] In a possible implementation, the chip 1600 may further include an input interface 1630. The processor 1610 may control the input interface 1630 to communicate with other devices or chips, and specifically, may obtain information or data sent by other devices or chips.

[0342] In a possible implementation, the chip 1600 may further include an output interface 1640. The processor 1610 may control the output interface 1640 to communicate with other devices or chips, and specifically, may output information or data to other devices or chips.

[0343] In one possible implementation, the chip can be applied to the access network device in the embodiment of the present application, and the chip can implement the corresponding processes implemented by the access network device in the various methods of the embodiment of the present application. For the sake of brevity, it will not be described in detail here. In one possible implementation, the chip can be applied to the core network device in the embodiment of the present application, and the chip can implement the corresponding processes implemented by the core network device in the various methods of the embodiment of the present application. For the sake of brevity, it will not be described in detail here. In one possible implementation, the chip can be applied to the terminal device in the embodiment of the present application, and the chip can implement the corresponding processes implemented by the terminal device in the various methods of the embodiment of the present application. For the sake of brevity, it will not be described in detail here.

[0344] The chips used in access network equipment, core network equipment, and terminal equipment can be the same chip or different chips.

[0345] It should be understood that the chip mentioned in the embodiments of the present application can also be called a system-level chip, a system chip, a chip system or a system-on-chip chip, etc.

[0346] The processor mentioned above may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor mentioned above may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc.

[0347] The memory mentioned above may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memories. The non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM).

[0348] It should be understood that the above-mentioned memories are exemplary but not restrictive. For example, the memories in the embodiments of the present application may also be static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct RAM RAM (DR RAM), etc. In other words, the memories in the embodiments of the present application are intended to include, but are not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memories.

[0349] FIG17 is a schematic block diagram of a communication system 1700 according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication system 1700 includes an access network device 1710 , a core network device 1720 , and a terminal device 1730 .

[0350] The access network device 1710 may be used to implement the corresponding functions implemented by the access network device in the above method, the core network device 1720 may be used to implement the corresponding functions implemented by the core network device in the above method, and the terminal device 1730 may be used to implement the corresponding functions implemented by the terminal device in the above method. For the sake of brevity, these details are not repeated here.

[0351] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When software is used for implementation, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function in accordance with the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from a website, computer, server or data center by wired (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) mode to another website, computer, server or data center. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrations. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state disk (SSD)).

[0352] 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.

[0353] Those skilled in the art will 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.

[0354] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any modifications or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present application should be included within the scope of protection of the present application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, comprising: The terminal device receives a trigger signal; The terminal device reports data at a first moment; wherein the first moment is related to the waiting time.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The first moment is the moment obtained by adding the waiting time to the moment of receiving the trigger signal.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein: The terminal device receives a trigger signal, including: The access layer AS of the terminal device receives the trigger signal sent by the access network device.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The trigger signal carries first configuration information, and the first configuration information is used to determine the waiting time.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein The method further comprises: The AS of the terminal device sends the first configuration information to the non-access layer NAS of the terminal device; The NAS of the terminal device determines the waiting time based on the first configuration information.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: Before the terminal device receives the trigger signal, the method further includes: The terminal device receives first configuration information; wherein, the first configuration information is used to determine the waiting time.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein: Before the terminal device receives the first configuration information, the method further includes: The terminal device sends capability information, where the capability information is used to indicate whether the terminal device supports Ambient IoT capability based on energy harvesting.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein: The terminal device receives first configuration information, including: The NAS of the terminal device receives the first configuration information sent by the core network device.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein The terminal device sending capability information includes: The NAS of the terminal device sends a registration request message to the core network device; the registration request message carries the capability information.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein: The NAS of the terminal device receives the first configuration information sent by the core network device, including: The NAS of the terminal device receives a registration acceptance message sent by the core network device; the registration acceptance message carries the first configuration information.

11. The method according to claim 8, wherein The non-access NAS of the terminal device receives the first configuration information sent by the core network device, including: After the terminal device completes registration, the NAS of the terminal device receives a NAS message sent by the core network device; the NAS message carries the first configuration information.

12. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 11, wherein: The method further comprises: The NAS of the terminal device determines the waiting time based on the first configuration information.

13. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 11, wherein: The method further comprises: The NAS of the terminal device sends the first configuration information to the AS of the terminal device.

14. The method according to claim 4 or 13, wherein: The method further comprises: The AS of the terminal device determines the waiting time based on the first configuration information.

15. The method according to claim 5 or 12, wherein: The terminal device reports data at a first moment, including: At the first moment, the NAS of the terminal device establishes a NAS connection with the core network device, and reports the data to the core network device through the NAS connection.

16. The method according to claim 14, wherein The terminal device reports data at a first moment, including: The AS of the terminal device reports data to the access network device at the first moment.

17. The method according to any one of claims 5, 12 and 14, wherein: The first configuration information includes a first response duration.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein The first configuration information also includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate generating a random number based on the first response duration.

19. The method according to claim 17, wherein The waiting time is equal to the first response time.

20. The method according to claim 17 or 18, wherein The waiting time is a first random number determined based on the first response time, and the first random number is less than or equal to the first response time.

21. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 20, wherein: The trigger signal is one of the following: a paging message, a broadcast signal.

22. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 21, wherein: The terminal device is an Internet of Things (IoT) terminal device, or an Ambient IoT terminal device.

23. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 11 and 15, wherein: The core network device is the access and mobility management network element AMF.

24. A communication method, comprising: The core network device sends a first request to the access network device; wherein the first request is used to instruct the access network device to send a trigger signal; The core network device receives data reported by the terminal device; wherein the receiving time of the data is related to the waiting time.

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein The data receiving time is the time obtained by adding the waiting time to the sending time of the first request.

26. The method according to claim 24 or 25, wherein The core network device sending a first request to the access network device includes: When the core network device receives the second request, the core network device sends the first request to the access network device; wherein the second request is used to instruct the core network device to send the first request.

27. The method according to claim 26, wherein The first request carries second indication information, and the second indication information includes identification information corresponding to one or more devices that need to be triggered; the one or more devices that need to be triggered include the terminal device.

28. The method according to claim 26 or 27, wherein The first request carries first configuration information, and the first configuration information is used to determine the waiting time.

29. The method according to claim 28, wherein The second request carries the first configuration information; or the second request carries second configuration information, and the second configuration information is related to the first configuration information.

30. The method according to any one of claims 26 to 28, wherein: Before the core network device sends the first request to the access network device, the method further includes: The core network device sends first configuration information to the terminal device; the first configuration information is used to determine the waiting time.

31. The method according to claim 30, wherein Before the core network device sends the first configuration information to the terminal device, the method further includes: The core network device receives capability information of the terminal device, where the capability information of the terminal device is used to indicate whether the terminal device supports Ambient IoT capability based on energy harvesting.

32. The method according to claim 31, wherein The core network device receives the capability information of the terminal device, including: The core network device receives a registration request message sent by a terminal device; the registration request message carries capability information of the terminal device.

33. The method according to claim 32, wherein The core network device sending first configuration information to the terminal device includes: When the core network device determines that the terminal device supports the Ambient IoT capability based on the capability information of the terminal device, the core network device sends the registration acceptance message to the terminal device; the registration acceptance message carries the first configuration information.

34. The method according to claim 30 or 31, wherein The core network device sending first configuration information to the terminal device includes: After the terminal device completes registration, the core network device sends a NAS message to the terminal device; the NAS message carries the first configuration information.

35. The method according to any one of claims 24 to 34, wherein: The core network device receives data reported by the terminal device, including: The core network device establishes a NAS connection with the terminal device, and receives data reported by the terminal device through the NAS connection; Alternatively, the core network device receives the data reported by the terminal device through the access network device.

36. The method according to claim 28 or 30, wherein The first configuration information includes a first response duration.

37. The method according to claim 36, wherein The first configuration information also includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate generating a random number based on the first response duration.

38. The method of claim 36, wherein: The waiting time is equal to the first response time.

39. The method according to claim 36 or 37, wherein The waiting time is a first random number determined based on the first response time, and the first random number is less than or equal to the first response time.

40. The method according to any one of claims 24 to 39, wherein: The terminal device is an Internet of Things (IoT) terminal device, or an Ambient IoT terminal device.

41. The method according to any one of claims 24 to 40, wherein: The core network device is the access and mobility management network element AMF.

42. A communication method, comprising: The access network device sends a trigger signal; The access network device receives data reported by the terminal device and sends the data to the core network device; wherein the sending time of the data is related to the waiting time.

43. The method according to claim 42, wherein The sending time of the data is the time obtained by adding the waiting time to the sending time of the trigger signal.

44. The method according to claim 42 or 43, wherein The access network device sending a trigger signal includes: When the access network device receives the first request sent by the core network device, the access network device sends the trigger signal to the terminal device.

45. The method of claim 44, wherein: The first request carries second indication information, and the second indication information includes identification information corresponding to one or more devices that need to be triggered; the one or more devices that need to be triggered include the terminal device.

46. ​​The method according to claim 44 or 45, wherein The first request carries first configuration information, and the first configuration information is used to determine the waiting time.

47. The method of claim 46, wherein The trigger signal carries the first configuration information.

48. The method of claim 46, wherein The method further comprises: The access network device determines the waiting time based on the first configuration information.

49. The method according to claim 48, wherein The access network device receives data reported by the terminal device and sends the data to the core network device, including: The access network device receives data reported by the terminal device; When the data sending time arrives, the access network device sends the data to the core network device.

50. The method of claim 48, wherein The first configuration information includes a first response duration.

51. The method of claim 50, wherein: The first configuration information also includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate generating a random number based on the first response duration.

52. The method of claim 50, wherein: The waiting time is equal to the first response time.

53. The method according to claim 50 or 51, wherein The waiting time is a first random number determined based on the first response time, and the first random number is less than or equal to the first response time.

54. The method according to any one of claims 42 to 53, wherein: The terminal device is an IoT terminal device, or an Ambient IoT terminal device based on energy harvesting.

55. The method according to any one of claims 42 to 54, wherein: The core network device is AMF.

56. The method according to any one of claims 42 to 55, wherein: The trigger signal is one of the following: a paging message, a broadcast signal.

57. A terminal device comprising: A first communication unit, configured to receive a trigger signal and report data; The first processing unit is configured to control the first communication unit to report data at a first moment; wherein the first moment is related to a waiting time.

58. The terminal device according to claim 57, wherein: The first moment is the moment obtained by adding the waiting time to the moment of receiving the trigger signal.

59. The terminal device according to claim 58, wherein: The first communication unit includes: a first AS communication subunit, configured to receive the trigger signal sent by the access network device.

60. The terminal device according to any one of claims 57 to 59, wherein: The trigger signal carries first configuration information, and the first configuration information is used to determine the waiting time.

61. The terminal device according to claim 60, wherein: The first processing unit includes: a first NAS processing subunit, configured to determine the waiting time based on the first configuration information; The first AS communication subunit is configured to send the first configuration information to the first NAS processing subunit.

62. The terminal device according to any one of claims 57 to 59, wherein: The first communication unit is configured to receive first configuration information before receiving the first configuration information; wherein the first configuration information is used to determine the waiting time.

63. The terminal device according to claim 62, wherein: The first communication unit is used to send capability information before receiving the first configuration information, where the capability information is used to indicate whether the terminal device supports the Ambient IoT capability based on energy harvesting.

64. The terminal device according to claim 63, wherein: The first communication unit includes: a first NAS communication subunit, configured to receive the first configuration information sent by a core network device.

65. The terminal device according to claim 64, wherein: The first NAS communication subunit is configured to send a registration request message to the core network device; the registration request message carries the capability information.

66. The terminal device according to claim 65, wherein: The first NAS communication subunit is configured to receive a registration acceptance message sent by the core network device; the registration acceptance message carries the first configuration information.

67. The terminal device according to claim 64, wherein: The first NAS communication subunit is configured to receive a NAS message sent by the core network device after the terminal device completes registration; The NAS message carries the first configuration information.

68. The terminal device according to any one of claims 64 to 67, wherein: The first processing unit includes: a first NAS processing subunit, configured to determine the waiting time based on the first configuration information.

69. The terminal device according to any one of claims 64 to 67, wherein: The first processing unit further includes: a first AS processing subunit, configured to obtain first configuration information from the first NAS communication subunit; The first NAS communication subunit is configured to send the first configuration information to the first AS communication subunit.

70. The terminal device according to claim 60 or 69, wherein: The first processing unit further includes: a first AS processing subunit, configured to determine the waiting time based on the first configuration information.

71. The terminal device according to claim 61 or 68, wherein: The first communication unit includes: a first NAS communication subunit, configured to establish a NAS connection with a core network device at a first moment, and report the data to the core network device through the NAS connection.

72. The terminal device according to claim 70, wherein: The first communication unit includes: a first AS communication subunit, configured to report data to the access network device at a first moment.

73. The terminal device according to any one of claims 61, 68, and 70, wherein: The first configuration information includes a first response duration.

74. The terminal device according to claim 73, wherein: The first configuration information also includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate generating a random number based on the first response duration.

75. The terminal device according to claim 73, wherein: The waiting time is equal to the first response time.

76. The terminal device according to claim 73 or 74, wherein: The waiting time is a first random number determined based on the first response time, and the first random number is less than or equal to the first response time.

77. The terminal device according to any one of claims 57 to 76, wherein: The trigger signal is one of the following: a paging message, a broadcast signal.

78. The terminal device according to any one of claims 57 to 77, wherein: The terminal device is an Internet of Things (IoT) terminal device, or an Ambient IoT terminal device.

79. The terminal device according to any one of claims 64-67 and 71, wherein: The core network device is the access and mobility management network element AMF.

80. A core network device, comprising: The second communication unit is used to send a first request to the access network device; wherein the first request is used to instruct the access network device to send a trigger signal; and receive data reported by the terminal device; wherein the receiving time of the data is related to the waiting time.

81. The core network device according to claim 80, wherein: The data receiving time is the time obtained by adding the waiting time to the sending time of the first request.

82. The core network device according to claim 80 or 81, wherein: The second communication unit is configured to send the first request to the access network device upon receiving the second request; wherein the second request is used to instruct the sending of the first request.

83. The core network device according to claim 82, wherein: The first request carries second indication information, and the second indication information includes identification information corresponding to one or more devices that need to be triggered; the one or more devices that need to be triggered include the terminal device.

84. The core network device according to claim 82 or 83, wherein: The first request carries first configuration information, and the first configuration information is used to determine the waiting time.

85. The core network device according to claim 84, wherein: The second request carries the first configuration information; or the second request carries second configuration information, and the second configuration information is related to the first configuration information.

86. The core network device according to any one of claims 82 to 84, wherein: The second communication unit is used to send first configuration information to the terminal device before sending the first request to the access network device; the first configuration information is used to determine the waiting time.

87. The core network device according to claim 86, wherein: The second communication unit is used to receive capability information of the terminal device before sending the first configuration information to the terminal device, where the capability information of the terminal device is used to indicate whether the terminal device supports Ambient IoT capability based on energy harvesting.

88. The core network device according to claim 87, wherein: The second communication unit is used to receive a registration request message sent by a terminal device; the registration request message carries capability information of the terminal device.

89. The core network device according to claim 88, wherein: The core network equipment further includes: a second processing unit, configured to, when determining based on the capability information of the terminal device that the terminal device supports the Ambient IoT capability, send the registration acceptance message to the terminal device through the second communication unit; the registration acceptance message carrying the first configuration information; The second communication unit is used to send the registration acceptance message to the terminal device.

90. The core network device according to claim 86 or 87, wherein: The second communication unit is used to send a NAS message to the terminal device after the terminal device completes registration; the NAS message carries the first configuration information.

91. The core network device according to any one of claims 80 to 90, wherein: The second communication unit is configured to establish a NAS connection with the terminal device and receive data reported by the terminal device through the NAS connection; or receive data reported by the terminal device through the access network device.

92. The core network device according to claim 84 or 86, wherein: The first configuration information includes a first response duration.

93. The core network device according to claim 92, wherein: The first configuration information also includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate generating a random number based on the first response duration.

94. The core network device according to claim 92, wherein: The waiting time is equal to the first response time.

95. The core network device according to claim 92 or 93, wherein: The waiting time is a first random number determined based on the first response time, and the first random number is less than or equal to the first response time.

96. The core network device according to any one of claims 24 to 95, wherein: The terminal device is an Internet of Things (IoT) terminal device, or an Ambient IoT terminal device.

97. The core network device according to any one of claims 24 to 96, wherein: The core network device is the access and mobility management network element AMF.

98. An access network device comprising: A third communication unit, configured to send a trigger signal; And receive data reported by the terminal device and send the data to the core network device; wherein the sending time of the data is related to the waiting time.

99. The access network device according to claim 98, wherein: The sending time of the data is the time obtained by adding the waiting time to the sending time of the trigger signal.

100. The access network device according to claim 98 or 99, wherein: The third communication unit is used to send the trigger signal to the terminal device when receiving the first request sent by the core network device.

101. The access network device according to claim 100, wherein: The first request carries second indication information, and the second indication information includes identification information corresponding to one or more devices that need to be triggered; the one or more devices that need to be triggered include the terminal device.

102. The access network device according to claim 100 or 101, wherein: The first request carries first configuration information, and the first configuration information is used to determine the waiting time.

103. The access network device according to claim 102, wherein: The trigger signal carries the first configuration information.

104. The access network device according to claim 102, wherein: The access network equipment further includes: The third processing unit is configured to determine the waiting period based on the first configuration information.

105. The access network device according to claim 104, wherein: The third communication unit is used to receive data reported by the terminal device; when the data sending time arrives, send the data to the core network device.

106. The access network device according to claim 104, wherein: The first configuration information includes a first response duration.

107. The access network device according to claim 106, wherein: The first configuration information also includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate generating a random number based on the first response duration.

108. The access network device according to claim 106, wherein: The waiting time is equal to the first response time.

109. The access network device according to claim 106 or 107, wherein: The waiting time is a first random number determined based on the first response time, and the first random number is less than or equal to the first response time.

110. The access network device according to any one of claims 98 to 109, wherein: The terminal device is an IoT terminal device, or an Ambient IoT terminal device based on energy harvesting.

111. The access network device according to any one of claims 98 to 110, wherein: The core network device is AMF.

112. The access network device according to any one of claims 98 to 111, wherein: The trigger signal is one of the following: a paging message, a broadcast signal.

113. A terminal device comprising: A transceiver, a processor and a memory, wherein the memory is used to store a computer program, and the processor is used to call and run the computer program stored in the memory, so that the terminal device executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 23.

114. A core network device comprising: A transceiver, a processor and a memory, the memory being used to store a computer program, the processor being used to call and run the computer program stored in the memory so that the core network device executes the method as described in any one of claims 24 to 41.

115. An access network device comprising: A transceiver, a processor and a memory, the memory being used to store a computer program, the processor being used to call and run the computer program stored in the memory so that the access network device executes the method as described in any one of claims 42 to 56.

116. A chip comprising: A processor, configured to call and run a computer program from a memory, so that a device equipped with the chip executes a method according to any one of claims 1 to 23, or claims 24 to 41, or claims 42 to 56.

117. A computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program, which, when executed by a device, causes the device to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 23, or claims 24 to 41, or claims 42 to 56.

118. A computer program product comprising computer program instructions for causing a computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 23, or claims 24 to 41, or claims 42 to 56.

119. A computer program causing a computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 23, or claims 24 to 41, or claims 42 to 56.

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