Short message processing method in non-ground network scene and related equipment

Abstract

The invention provides a short message processing method in a non-ground network scene and related equipment, and relates to the technical field of wireless communication. The method is applied to a non-terrestrial network element, and comprises the following steps: feeding back a request retransmission time parameter to a terrestrial short message service network element, the request retransmission time parameter being used for indicating downlink short message retransmission time. The short message storage and forwarding method and device can guarantee smooth short message storage and forwarding in a non-ground network scene, and improve the success rate of short message storage and forwarding in the non-ground network scene.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of wireless communication technology, and in particular to a short message processing method and related equipment in a non-terrestrial network scenario. Background Art

[0002] Current 3GPP standards specify that NTN (Non-Terrestrial Network) satellites only support transparent forwarding mode, including transparent forwarding between ground terminals and ground base stations, or between ground base stations and the terrestrial core network. However, due to geographical and other constraints, widespread deployment of NTN ground gateways is not possible, resulting in limited coverage. Therefore, in Release 19, 3GPP is considering a satellite regeneration model, which involves moving base stations and / or (partial) core network functions to satellites. This would reduce reliance on terrestrial networks, provide flexible networking, and reduce communication latency.

[0003] Due to the deployment limitations of ground gateways, the satellite-to-ground connection may be intermittently or temporarily unavailable (e.g., when the satellite is providing services to terminals within its coverage area, the feeder link connection with the ground is disconnected). Therefore, it is necessary to provide store-and-forward operations for delay-tolerant / delay-insensitive services. For uplink transmission, "storage" refers to storing uplink information from the terminal onboard, and "forwarding" refers to forwarding the stored uplink information to the ground network. For downlink transmission, "storage" refers to storing downlink information from the ground network onboard, and "forwarding" refers to forwarding the stored downlink information to the terminal.

[0004] In the currently defined SMS service processing flow, the MME (Mobility Management Entity) cannot process SMS services for store-and-forward operations in satellite scenarios, which may result in multiple failed retransmissions of downlink SMS messages.

[0005] It should be noted that the information disclosed in the above background technology section is only used to enhance the understanding of the background of the present disclosure, and therefore may include information that does not constitute prior art known to ordinary technicians in the field. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The present disclosure provides a short message processing method and related equipment in a non-terrestrial network scenario, which at least to a certain extent overcomes the technical problem in the related art that it is impossible to ensure the smooth transmission of terminal downlink short messages in a store-and-forward scenario.

[0007] Other features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description, or may be learned in part by practice of the present disclosure.

[0008] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a short message processing method in a non-terrestrial network scenario is provided. The method is applied to a non-terrestrial network element, including: feeding back a request retransmission time parameter to a terrestrial short message service network element, wherein the request retransmission time parameter is used to indicate the time for retransmission of a downlink short message.

[0009] In some embodiments, when the non-terrestrial network element is a network element deployed on a satellite, the requested retransmission time parameter is determined by at least one of the following information: ephemeris information, on-board resource information, and load conditions.

[0010] In some embodiments, the method further includes: sending storage and forwarding mode indication information to a terrestrial short message service network element, wherein the storage and forwarding mode indication information is used to indicate that the non-terrestrial network carrier where the non-terrestrial network element is located adopts storage and forwarding mode for data transmission.

[0011] In some embodiments, the requested retransmission time parameter is less than or equal to a maximum retransmission time parameter.

[0012] In some embodiments, the requested retransmission time parameter is greater than a maximum retransmission time parameter.

[0013] In some embodiments, before feeding back a request retransmission time parameter to the terrestrial short message service network element, the method further includes: determining whether the downlink short message needs to be retransmitted.

[0014] In some embodiments, after determining whether the downlink short message needs to be retransmitted, the method further includes: if it is determined that the downlink short message needs to be retransmitted, feeding back a request retransmission time parameter to the terrestrial short message service network element.

[0015] In some embodiments, after feeding back the request retransmission time parameter to the terrestrial short message service network element, the method further includes: if a downlink short message is received that is retransmitted by the terrestrial short message service network element at the time indicated by the request retransmission time parameter, executing the short message forwarding process between the terrestrial short message service network element and the short message terminal.

[0016] In some embodiments, after determining whether the downlink short message needs to be retransmitted, the method further includes: if it is determined that the downlink short message does not need to be retransmitted, executing a short message forwarding process between the terrestrial short message service network element and the short message terminal.

[0017] In some embodiments, the short message forwarding process between the terrestrial short message service network element and the short message terminal includes: storing the downlink short message sent by the terrestrial short message service network element to the short message terminal; when the non-terrestrial network element is connected to the short message terminal, forwarding the stored downlink short message to the short message terminal.

[0018] In some embodiments, the method further includes: when the non-ground network element is connected to the short message terminal, receiving the delivery report or uplink short message sent by the short message terminal to the ground short message service network element for storage; when the non-ground network element is connected to the ground short message service network element, sending the stored delivery report or uplink short message to the ground short message service network element.

[0019] In some embodiments, the ground short message service network element is a ground short message service gateway with short message function.

[0020] In some embodiments, before feeding back the request retransmission time parameter to the terrestrial short message service network element, the method further includes: receiving a short message forwarding request message from a short message gateway, wherein the short message forwarding request message includes: a maximum retransmission time parameter; wherein, feeding back the request retransmission time parameter to the terrestrial short message service network element includes: returning a short message forwarding response message to the short message gateway, wherein the short message forwarding response message includes: a request retransmission time parameter.

[0021] In some embodiments, the short message service gateway in the embodiments of the present disclosure is a short message service gateway mobile switching center SMS-GMSC.

[0022] In some embodiments, the non-terrestrial network element in the embodiments of the present disclosure is a mobility management entity MME deployed on a satellite.

[0023] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a short message processing method in a non-terrestrial network scenario is also provided. The method is applied to a terrestrial short message service network element, including: receiving a request retransmission time parameter fed back by the non-terrestrial network element, wherein the request retransmission time parameter is used to indicate the time for retransmission of the downlink short message.

[0024] In some embodiments, after receiving the requested retransmission time parameter fed back by the non-terrestrial network element, the method further includes: executing retransmission of the downlink short message according to the received requested retransmission time parameter.

[0025] In some embodiments, the method further includes: if the requested retransmission time parameter fed back by the non-ground network element is not received within the maximum retransmission time, retransmission of the downlink short message is performed according to the maximum retransmission time, wherein the requested retransmission time parameter is used to indicate the time for retransmission of the downlink short message.

[0026] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a non-terrestrial network element device is also provided, including: a short message request retransmission parameter feedback module, used to feedback a request retransmission time parameter to a terrestrial short message service network element, wherein the request retransmission time parameter is used to indicate the time for retransmission of a downlink short message.

[0027] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is also provided a ground short message service network element device, comprising: a short message request retransmission parameter receiving module, configured to receive a request retransmission time parameter fed back by a non-ground network element, wherein the request retransmission time parameter is used to indicate a time of downlink short message retransmission.

[0028] In some embodiments, the ground short message service network element device further comprises: a short message retransmission module, configured to perform retransmission of the downlink short message according to the received request retransmission time parameter.

[0029] In some embodiments, the short message retransmission module is further configured to: if the request retransmission time parameter fed back by the non-ground network element is not received before a maximum retransmission time, perform retransmission of the downlink short message according to the maximum retransmission time, wherein the request retransmission time parameter is used to indicate a time of downlink short message retransmission.

[0030] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is also provided a short message service system, comprising: a non-ground network element and a ground short message service network element; wherein the non-ground network element is configured to feed back a request retransmission time parameter to the ground short message service network element, wherein the request retransmission time parameter is used to indicate a time of downlink short message retransmission.

[0031] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is also provided an electronic device, comprising: a processor; and a memory configured to store executable instructions of the processor; wherein the processor is configured to perform the short message processing method in a non-ground network scenario via execution of the executable instructions.

[0032] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is also provided a computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program, which, when executed by a processor, implements the short message processing method in a non-ground network scenario.

[0033] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is also provided a computer program product, comprising: a computer program or instructions, which, when executed by a processor, implements the short message processing method in a non-ground network scenario.

[0034] The short message processing method in a non-ground network scenario and related devices provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure feed back a request retransmission time parameter from a non-ground network element to a ground short message service network element, so that the ground short message service network element performs retransmission of downlink short message according to the time indicated by the request retransmission time parameter. Through the embodiments of the present disclosure, the smooth progress of short message storage and forwarding in a non-ground network scenario can be ensured, and the success rate of short message storage and forwarding in a non-ground network scenario can be improved.

[0035] It is to be understood that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0036] The accompanying drawings are incorporated into and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the present disclosure, and together with the specification, are used to explain the principles of the present disclosure. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present disclosure, and those skilled in the art can derive other drawings based on these drawings without inventive effort.

[0037] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a short message service system architecture according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0038] Figure 2 A flow chart of a short message processing method executed by a non-terrestrial network element in a non-terrestrial network scenario according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0039] Figure 3 A flowchart of an optional short message processing method in a non-terrestrial network scenario according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0040] Figure 4 A flow chart of a short message processing method executed by a terrestrial short message service network element in a non-terrestrial network scenario according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0041] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a non-terrestrial network system architecture based on a satellite regeneration mode according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0042] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a satellite network system architecture supporting short message processing according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0043] Figure 7 A schematic diagram showing a system interaction process for short message processing in a satellite store-and-forward scenario according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0044] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of a non-terrestrial network element device in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0045] Figure 9 A schematic diagram of a terrestrial short message service network element device in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0046] Figure 10 A structural block diagram of an electronic device in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0047] Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, example embodiments can be embodied in many forms and should not be construed as limited to the examples set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully convey the concepts of the example embodiments to those skilled in the art. The described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

[0048] In addition, the accompanying drawings are merely schematic illustrations of the present disclosure and are not necessarily drawn to scale. Identical reference numerals in the figures denote identical or similar parts, and thus repetitive descriptions thereof will be omitted. Some of the block diagrams shown in the accompanying drawings are functional entities that do not necessarily correspond to physically or logically separate entities. These functional entities may be implemented in software, in one or more hardware modules or integrated circuits, or in different networks and / or processor devices and / or microcontroller devices.

[0049] For ease of understanding, before introducing the embodiments of the present disclosure, several terms involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure are first explained as follows:

[0050] NTN: Non-Terrestrial Network.

[0051] MME: Mobility Management Entity.

[0052] HSS: Home Subscriber Server, home subscriber server.

[0053] SMS: Short Message Service, short message service.

[0054] MSC: Mobile-services Switching Centre, a type of switch that performs switching functions for base stations located within a specified geographical area.

[0055] SME: Short Message Entity, short message entity, used to send or receive short messages.

[0056] SC: Service Centre, used to relay, store and forward short messages between SMEs and mobile terminals.

[0057] SMS-GMSC: Gateway MSC For Short Message Service, short message service gateway MSC, is used to receive short messages from SC, negotiate with HSS to obtain SMS routing information, and send short messages to the network entity corresponding to the receiving mobile terminal.

[0058] Delivery Report: Delivery report.

[0059] The specific implementation of the embodiment of the present disclosure is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0060] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a short message service system architecture according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 1 As shown, the system architecture includes a non-terrestrial network element 10 and a terrestrial short message service network element 20. The non-terrestrial network element 10 is configured to provide the terrestrial short message service network element 20 with feedback of a requested retransmission time parameter, wherein the requested retransmission time parameter indicates the retransmission time of a downlink short message. A downlink short message is a short message sent by the terrestrial short message service network element 20 to a short message terminal 30.

[0061] The non-ground network element 10 in the embodiment of the present disclosure is used to receive and store downlink short messages sent by the terrestrial short message service network element 20 to the short message terminal 30 when the terrestrial short message service network element 20 is connected, and forward the stored downlink short messages to the short message terminal 30 when the short message terminal 30 is covered; at this time, it can also receive and store uplink short messages or delivery reports sent by the short message terminal 30 to the terrestrial short message service network element 20, and forward the stored uplink short messages or delivery reports to the terrestrial short message service network element 20 when connected to the terrestrial short message service network element 20.

[0062] It should be noted that the non-terrestrial network element 10 in the embodiments of the present disclosure refers to a core network element deployed on a non-terrestrial carrier (such as a satellite), which can be a core network element of a 4G network, a core network element of a 5G network, or a core network element of a network of 5G or higher versions. The present disclosure does not specifically limit this. In some embodiments, when the non-terrestrial network element 10 is a core network element of a 4G network, the non-terrestrial network element 10 can be an MME (Mobility Management Entity) network element; in other embodiments, when the non-terrestrial network element 10 is a core network element of a 5G network, the non-terrestrial network element 10 can be an AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function) network element.

[0063] Those skilled in the art will know that Figure 1The number of non-ground network elements, ground short message service network elements, and short message terminals in the system architecture is merely illustrative, and any number of non-ground network elements, ground short message service network elements, and short message terminals can be provided according to actual needs. The embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit this.

[0064] Under the system architecture described above, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a short message processing method in a non-ground network scenario, which can be executed by any electronic device with computing processing capability.

[0065] In some embodiments, the short message processing method in a non-ground network scenario provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure can be executed by the non-ground network element of the system architecture described above; in other embodiments, the short message processing method in a non-ground network scenario provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure can be realized by the non-ground network element, the ground short message service network element, and the short message terminal in the system architecture described above through interaction.

[0066] Figure 2 A flowchart of a short message processing method in a non-ground network scenario is shown in the embodiments of the present disclosure, as shown in Figure 2 The short message processing method in a non-ground network scenario provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure includes the following steps:

[0067] S202, feeding back a request retransmission time parameter to the ground short message service network element, wherein the request retransmission time parameter is used to indicate the time of downlink short message retransmission.

[0068] It should be noted that S202 described above can be executed by a non-ground network element, wherein the non-ground network element in the embodiments of the present disclosure refers to a network element deployed on a non-ground network carrier (such as a satellite, a high-altitude platform, etc.) for forwarding short messages (also referred to as short messages); the ground short message service network element in the embodiments of the present disclosure refers to a network element deployed on the ground for providing short message services. The request retransmission time parameter in the embodiments of the present disclosure refers to a parameter used to indicate the time of downlink short message retransmission. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the uplink short message refers to a short message sent by a short message terminal (which can be any terminal such as a mobile phone) to a ground short message service network element; the downlink short message refers to a short message sent by a ground short message service network element to a short message terminal (which can be any terminal such as a mobile phone).

[0069] In some embodiments, when the non-ground network element is a network element deployed on a satellite, the request retransmission time parameter is determined by at least one of the following information: ephemeris information, on-board resource information, and load condition.

[0070] In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 3 The short message processing method in a non-ground network scenario provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure can include the following steps:

[0071] S300, the non-terrestrial network element sends storage and forwarding mode indication information to the terrestrial short message service network element, wherein the storage and forwarding mode indication information is used to indicate that the non-terrestrial network carrier where the non-terrestrial network element is located adopts the storage and forwarding mode for data transmission.

[0072] S302, the terrestrial short message service network element sends the downlink short message to the non-terrestrial network element, and the downlink short message contains the maximum retransmission time.

[0073] S304, the non-terrestrial network element judges whether the downlink short message needs to be retransmitted. In the case of determining that the downlink short message needs to be retransmitted, S306 is executed.

[0074] S306, the non-terrestrial network element feeds back the retransmission time parameter to the terrestrial short message service network element.

[0075] S308, the terrestrial short message service network element sends or retransmits the downlink short message to the non-terrestrial network element.

[0076] S310, the non-terrestrial network element stores the downlink short message from the terrestrial short message service network element.

[0077] S312, the non-terrestrial network element forwards the stored downlink short message to the short message terminal.

[0078] S314, the short message terminal sends the uplink short message or the submission report to the non-terrestrial network element.

[0079] S316, the non-terrestrial network element stores the uplink short message or the submission report from the short message terminal.

[0080] S318, the non-terrestrial network element forwards the stored uplink short message or the submission report to the terrestrial short message service network element.

[0081] In some embodiments, the retransmission time parameter is less than or equal to the maximum retransmission time parameter.

[0082] In other embodiments, the retransmission time parameter is greater than the maximum retransmission time parameter.

[0083] In some embodiments, if the downlink short message retransmitted by the terrestrial short message service network element at the time indicated by the retransmission time parameter is received or it is determined that the downlink short message does not need to be retransmitted, the short message forwarding process between the terrestrial short message service network element and the short message terminal (i.e., S310 to S318) is executed.

[0084] In some embodiments, the short message forwarding process between the terrestrial short message service network element and the short message terminal includes: storing the downlink short message sent by the terrestrial short message service network element to the short message terminal; when the non-terrestrial network element is connected to the short message terminal, forwarding the stored downlink short message to the short message terminal; receiving the delivery report / uplink short message sent by the short message terminal to the terrestrial short message service network element and storing it; when the non-terrestrial network element is connected to the terrestrial short message service network element, sending the stored delivery report / uplink short message to the terrestrial short message service network element.

[0085] In some embodiments, the terrestrial short message service network element is a short message service gateway on the ground with a short message function.

[0086] In some embodiments, before feeding back the request retransmission time parameter to the terrestrial short message service network element, the short message processing method in the non-terrestrial network scenario provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure may also include the following steps: receiving a short message forwarding request message from a short message gateway, wherein the short message forwarding request message includes: a maximum retransmission time parameter; wherein feeding back the request retransmission time parameter to the terrestrial short message service network element includes: returning a short message forwarding response message to the short message gateway, wherein the short message forwarding response message includes: a request retransmission time parameter.

[0087] In some embodiments, the short message service gateway in the embodiments of the present disclosure is a short message service gateway mobile switching center SMS-GMSC.

[0088] In some embodiments, the non-terrestrial network element in the embodiments of the present disclosure is a mobility management entity MME deployed on a satellite.

[0089] Based on the same inventive concept, an embodiment of the present disclosure also provides a short message processing method in a non-terrestrial network scenario, which can be executed by any electronic device with computing and processing capabilities.

[0090] In some embodiments, the short message processing method in the non-ground network scenario provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure can be executed by the ground short message service network element of the above-mentioned system architecture; in other embodiments, the short message processing method in the non-ground network scenario provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented by the ground short message service network element and the non-ground network element and the short message terminal in the above-mentioned system architecture through interaction.

[0091] Figure 4 A flow chart of a short message processing method in a non-terrestrial network scenario according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 4 As shown, the short message processing method in the non-terrestrial network scenario provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure includes the following steps:

[0092] S402: Receive a request retransmission time parameter fed back by a non-terrestrial network element, where the request retransmission time parameter is used to indicate a time for retransmitting a downlink short message.

[0093] In some embodiments, after receiving the request retransmission time parameter fed back by the non-terrestrial network element, the short message processing method in the non-terrestrial network scenario provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure may also include the following steps: if the request retransmission time parameter is received, the downlink short message is retransmitted according to the received request retransmission time parameter.

[0094] In some embodiments, the short message processing method in the non-terrestrial network scenario provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure may also include the following steps: if the maximum retransmission time is exceeded and the request retransmission time parameter fed back by the non-terrestrial network element is not received, the downlink short message is retransmitted according to the maximum retransmission time, wherein the request retransmission time parameter is used to indicate the time for retransmission of the downlink short message.

[0095] In some embodiments, when the non-terrestrial network element is a network element deployed on a satellite, the request retransmission time parameter is determined by at least one of the following information: ephemeris information, on-board resource information, and load conditions.

[0096] In some embodiments, the short message processing method in the non-ground network scenario provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure may also include the following steps: receiving storage and forwarding mode indication information sent by the non-ground network element, wherein the storage and forwarding mode indication information is used to indicate that the non-ground network carrier where the non-ground network element is located adopts storage and forwarding mode for data transmission.

[0097] In some embodiments, the requested retransmission time parameter is less than or equal to the maximum retransmission time parameter.

[0098] In some embodiments, the requested retransmission time parameter is greater than the maximum retransmission time parameter.

[0099] In some embodiments, the non-terrestrial network element is further configured to determine whether the downlink short message needs to be retransmitted.

[0100] Furthermore, in some embodiments, the non-terrestrial network element is further configured to: if it is determined that the downlink short message needs to be retransmitted, feed back a retransmission time parameter to the terrestrial short message service network element.

[0101] Furthermore, in some embodiments, the non-terrestrial network element is also used to: if a downlink short message retransmitted by the terrestrial short message service network element is received at the time indicated by the requested retransmission time parameter, execute the short message forwarding process between the terrestrial short message service network element and the short message terminal.

[0102] Furthermore, in some embodiments, the non-terrestrial network element is further configured to: if it is determined that the downlink short message does not need to be retransmitted, execute a short message forwarding process between the terrestrial short message service network element and the short message terminal.

[0103] In some embodiments, the short message processing method in the non-terrestrial network scenario provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure may also include the following steps: sending the downlink short message to be sent to the short message terminal to the non-terrestrial network element, wherein the non-terrestrial network element is also used to: store short messages from the short message service network element, and when the non-terrestrial network element is connected to the short message terminal, forward the stored downlink short message to the short message terminal.

[0104] In some embodiments, when a non-ground network element is connected to a short message terminal, the non-ground network element is also used to: receive and store delivery reports / uplink short messages sent by the short message terminal to the ground short message service network element; when the non-ground network element is connected to a ground short message service network element, send the stored delivery reports / uplink short messages to the ground short message service network element.

[0105] In some embodiments, the terrestrial short message service network element is a short message service gateway on the ground with a short message function.

[0106] In some embodiments, before feeding back the request retransmission time parameter to the terrestrial short message service network element, the method also includes: receiving a short message forwarding request message from a short message gateway, wherein the short message forwarding request message includes: a maximum retransmission time parameter; wherein, feeding back the request retransmission time parameter to the terrestrial short message service network element includes: returning a short message forwarding response message to the short message gateway, wherein the short message forwarding response message includes: a request retransmission time parameter.

[0107] In some embodiments, the short message service gateway in the disclosed embodiments is a short message service gateway mobile switching center (SMS-GMSC). The non-terrestrial network element in the disclosed embodiments is a mobility management entity (MME) deployed on a satellite. In this embodiment, the short message forwarding request message is a downlink short message, and the short message forwarding response message is a confirmation message of receipt of the downlink short message.

[0108] Figure 5 The following shows a non-terrestrial network system architecture based on a satellite regeneration mode in an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 6 FIG. 1 shows a satellite network system architecture supporting short message processing in an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 6As shown in the figure, when an onboard MME (i.e., a non-terrestrial network element) receives a short message from an SMS network element (i.e., a terrestrial short message service network element), given the limited onboard storage resources, the MME may choose not to process the short message at this time and wait until a later time (e.g., when the satellite is closer to the terminal and connected to the ground). At this time, the MME needs to return a request retransmission time to the SMS network element. After receiving the request time, the SMS network element resends the short message to the MME at the corresponding time.

[0109] Figure 7 The system interaction process of short message processing in a satellite store-and-forward scenario in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown as follows: Figure 7 As shown, the following steps are included:

[0110] S702, SC sends the downlink short message to SMS-GMSC.

[0111] S704, SMS-GMSC obtains routing information of the downlink short message from the HSS.

[0112] S706, SMS-GMSC sends a downlink short message to MME via a short message forwarding request message (MT ForwardShort Message Request message) based on the obtained routing information. The message carries a maximum retransmission time parameter (Maximum Retransmission Time) to indicate that SMS-GMSC can retransmit the downlink short message in the future.

[0113] S708, the MME determines whether it is necessary to request retransmission of the downlink short message. Specifically, it may determine whether it is necessary to request retransmission of the downlink short message based on the on-board storage resource situation.

[0114] For retransmission request (Option 1), perform the following steps:

[0115] S710a: The MME determines a request retransmission time. The MME may calculate an appropriate request retransmission time based on ephemeris information, UE location, and other conditions.

[0116] S712a, the MME returns a short message forwarding response message (MT Forward Short Message Answer) to the SMS-GMSC, the message carrying a requested retransmission time parameter (Requested Retransmission Time), requesting the SMS-GMSC to retransmit within the time indicated by the requested retransmission time parameter.

[0117] S714a: Execute retransmission of the downlink short message.

[0118] S716a: Execute the processing flow of S708 and Option 2.

[0119] To directly process downlink short messages (Option 2), perform the following steps:

[0120] S710b: The MME stores the short message.

[0121] S712b: The MME and the message terminal transmit paging and service request messages.

[0122] S714b, the MME forwards the downlink short message to the message terminal.

[0123] S716b: The message terminal returns a confirmation message of receiving the downlink short message to the MME.

[0124] S718b: The message terminal sends a delivery report / uplink short message to the MME.

[0125] S720b: The MME stores the delivery report / uplink short message. When the satellite is connected to the terrestrial network, S722b is executed.

[0126] S722b, the MME sends a delivery report / uplink short message to the SMS-GMSC.

[0127] S724b, SMS-GMSC sends a delivery report / uplink short message to the SC.

[0128] It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, in the satellite store-and-forward scenario, the requested retransmission time parameter Requested Retransmission Time returned by the MME to the SMS-GMSC may be less than or equal to the maximum retransmission time parameter Maximum Retransmission Time, or may be greater than the maximum retransmission time parameter MaximumRetransmission Time.

[0129] The short message service processing method supporting satellite scenarios provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure is applicable to, but not limited to, an onboard MME. When the onboard MME receives a downlink short message while connected to the ground, and the message includes a maximum retransmission time parameter, the onboard MME may provide feedback on the requested retransmission time to the ground short message network element. The onboard MME receives a downlink short message that includes the maximum retransmission time parameter. The MME determines whether to request retransmission. If so, the onboard MME may provide feedback on the requested retransmission time to the ground short message network element. If not, the onboard MME continues with subsequent processing. If the onboard MME receives a downlink short message that is retransmitted at the requested time, the onboard MME continues with subsequent onboard processing. The subsequent processing performed by the MME may include: the onboard MME receives and stores the downlink short message. When connected to a terminal, the onboard MME sends the short message to the terminal and receives and stores a delivery report / uplink short message. When connected to the ground, the onboard MME sends the delivery report / uplink short message to the ground network element.

[0130] Based on the same inventive concept, the present disclosure also provides a non-terrestrial network element device, as described in the following embodiments. Since the principles of the device embodiment to solve the problem are similar to those of the above-mentioned method embodiment, the implementation of the device embodiment can refer to the implementation of the above-mentioned method embodiment, and the repeated parts will not be repeated.

[0131] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of a non-terrestrial network element device in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 8 As shown, the non-terrestrial network element device includes: a short message request retransmission parameter feedback module 801, which is used to feed back a request retransmission time parameter to the terrestrial short message service network element, wherein the request retransmission time parameter is used to indicate the time for retransmission of the downlink short message.

[0132] It should be noted that the examples and application scenarios implemented by the modules in the above-mentioned device embodiments are the same as those implemented by the corresponding steps in the method embodiments, but are not limited to the contents disclosed in the above-mentioned method embodiments. It should be noted that the above-mentioned modules, as part of the device, can be executed in a computer system, such as a set of computer-executable instructions.

[0133] Based on the same inventive concept, the present disclosure also provides a terrestrial short message service network element device, as described in the following embodiment. Since the principle of solving the problem in the device embodiment is similar to that in the above method embodiment, the implementation of the device embodiment can refer to the implementation of the above method embodiment, and the repeated parts will not be repeated.

[0134] Figure 9 A schematic diagram of a terrestrial short message service network element device in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 9As shown, the terrestrial short message service network element device includes: a short message request retransmission parameter receiving module 901, which is used to receive a request retransmission time parameter fed back by a non-terrestrial network element, wherein the request retransmission time parameter is used to indicate the time for retransmission of a downlink short message.

[0135] In some embodiments, the terrestrial short message service network element device further includes: a short message retransmission module 902, configured to execute retransmission of the downlink short message according to the received requested retransmission time parameter.

[0136] In some embodiments, the terrestrial short message service network element device is further used to: if the maximum retransmission time is exceeded and the requested retransmission time parameter fed back by the non-terrestrial network element is not received, then retransmission of the downlink short message is performed according to the maximum retransmission time, wherein the requested retransmission time parameter is used to indicate the time for retransmission of the downlink short message.

[0137] It should be noted that the examples and application scenarios implemented by the modules in the above-mentioned device embodiments are the same as those implemented by the corresponding steps in the method embodiments, but are not limited to the contents disclosed in the above-mentioned method embodiments. It should be noted that the above-mentioned modules, as part of the device, can be executed in a computer system, such as a set of computer-executable instructions.

[0138] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various aspects of the present disclosure may be implemented in the following forms, namely: a complete hardware implementation, a complete software implementation (including firmware, microcode, etc.), or an implementation that combines hardware and software aspects, which may be collectively referred to herein as a "circuit," "module," or "system."

[0139] Based on the same inventive concept, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides an electronic device, comprising: a processor; and a memory for storing executable instructions of the processor; wherein the processor is configured to execute any of the above-mentioned methods for processing short messages in a non-terrestrial network scenario by executing the executable instructions. Since the principles for solving the problem in this electronic device embodiment are similar to those in the above-mentioned method embodiment, the implementation of this electronic device embodiment can refer to the implementation of the above-mentioned method embodiment, and repeated parts will not be repeated here.

[0140] Refer to the following Figure 10 1000 according to this embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. Figure 10 The electronic device 1000 shown is merely an example and should not limit the functions and scope of use of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0141] like Figure 10As shown, electronic device 1000 is implemented as a general-purpose computing device. Components of electronic device 1000 may include, but are not limited to, the aforementioned at least one processing unit 1010, the aforementioned at least one storage unit 1020, and a bus 1030 connecting various system components (including storage unit 1020 and processing unit 1010).

[0142] The storage unit stores program codes, which can be executed by the processing unit 1010, so that the processing unit 1010 executes the steps described in the above “Exemplary Method” section of this specification according to various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0143] In some embodiments, when the electronic device 1000 is, for example, the processing unit 1010 can execute the following steps of the above method embodiment: feedback a request retransmission time parameter to the terrestrial short message service network element, wherein the request retransmission time parameter is used to indicate the time for retransmission of the downlink short message.

[0144] The storage unit 1020 may include a readable medium in the form of a volatile storage unit, such as a random access memory unit (RAM) 10201 and / or a cache memory unit 10202 , and may further include a read-only memory unit (ROM) 10203 .

[0145] The storage unit 1020 may also include a program / utility 10204 having a set (at least one) of program modules 10205, such program modules 10205 including but not limited to: an operating system, one or more application programs, other program modules, and program data, each of which or some combination may include an implementation of a network environment.

[0146] Bus 1030 may represent one or more of several types of bus structures, including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, an accelerated graphics port, a processing unit, or a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures.

[0147] The electronic device 1000 may also communicate with one or more external devices 1040 (e.g., a keyboard, a pointing device, a Bluetooth device, etc.), one or more devices that enable a user to interact with the electronic device 1000, and / or any device that enables the electronic device 1000 to communicate with one or more other computing devices (e.g., a router, a modem, etc.). Such communication may occur via an input / output (I / O) interface 1050. Furthermore, the electronic device 1000 may also communicate with one or more networks (e.g., a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), and / or a public network such as the Internet) via a network adapter 1060. As shown, the network adapter 1060 communicates with other modules of the electronic device 1000 via the bus 1030. It should be understood that, although not shown in the figure, other hardware and / or software modules may be used in conjunction with the electronic device 1000, including but not limited to microcode, device drivers, redundant processing units, external disk drive arrays, RAID systems, tape drives, and data backup storage systems.

[0148] Through the description of the above embodiments, it is easy for those skilled in the art to understand that the example embodiments described herein can be implemented by software or by combining software with necessary hardware. Therefore, the technical solution according to the embodiments of the present disclosure can be embodied in the form of a software product, which can be stored in a non-volatile storage medium (which can be a CD-ROM, a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, etc.) or on a network, and includes several instructions to enable a computing device (which can be a personal computer, a server, a terminal device, or a network device, etc.) to execute the method according to the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0149] Based on the same inventive concept, embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon. When executed by a processor, the computer program implements any of the aforementioned methods for processing short messages in a non-terrestrial network scenario. Because the principles underlying the problems solved by this embodiment of the computer-readable storage medium are similar to those of the aforementioned method embodiments, the implementation of this embodiment of the computer-readable storage medium can be referenced to the implementation of the aforementioned method embodiments, and any repetitive details will not be repeated.

[0150] More specific examples of computer-readable storage media in the present disclosure may include, but are not limited to, an electrical connection having one or more conductors, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), optical fibers, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0151] In the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium may include a data signal propagated in baseband or as part of a carrier wave, which carries readable program code. Such propagated data signals may take various forms, including but not limited to electromagnetic signals, optical signals, or any suitable combination thereof. A readable signal medium may also be any readable medium other than a readable storage medium that can transmit, propagate, or transfer a program for use by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0152] Alternatively, the program code contained on the computer-readable storage medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wired, optical cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination thereof.

[0153] In a specific implementation, the program code for performing the operations of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including object-oriented programming languages ​​such as Java, C++, and the like, as well as conventional procedural programming languages ​​such as "C" or similar programming languages. The program code may be executed entirely on the user computing device, partially on the user device, as a standalone software package, partially on the user computing device and partially on a remote computing device, or entirely on a remote computing device or server. In the case of a remote computing device, the remote computing device may be connected to the user computing device via any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or may be connected to an external computing device (e.g., via the Internet using an Internet service provider).

[0154] Based on the same inventive concept, embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a computer program product, including a computer program or instructions, which, when executed by a processor, implements the short message processing method in a non-terrestrial network scenario of any one of the above-mentioned method embodiments. Since the principles for solving the problem in this computer program product embodiment are similar to those in the above-mentioned method embodiment, the implementation of this computer program product embodiment can refer to the implementation of the above-mentioned method embodiment, and repeated parts will not be repeated here.

[0155] It should be noted that although several modules or units of the device for action execution are mentioned in the detailed description above, this division is not mandatory. In fact, according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the features and functions of two or more modules or units described above can be concretized in one module or unit. Conversely, the features and functions of one module or unit described above can be further divided into multiple modules or units to be concretized.

[0156] Moreover, although individual steps of the methods in the present disclosure are described in a particular order in the drawings, this is not required or implied, nor is it necessary to perform all of the steps shown to achieve the desired result. Additionally or alternatively, certain steps can be omitted, combined into a single step, performed in a different order, broken down into multiple steps, and / or the like.

[0157] Those skilled in the art will readily understand that the example embodiments described herein can be implemented by software and / or by hardware coupled with software, as described above. Thus, the technical solutions according to the embodiments of the present disclosure can be embodied in the form of a software product. The software product can be stored in a non-volatile storage medium (which can be a CD-ROM, a USB flash disk, a mobile hard disk, or the like) or on a network, and includes a number of instructions to enable a computing device (which can be a personal computer, a server, a mobile terminal, or a network device, etc.) to perform the methods according to the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0158] Other embodiments of the present disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the application disclosed herein. The present disclosure is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the present disclosure following the general principles thereof and including such departures from the present disclosure that come within known use or custom in the art to which the present disclosure pertains. The specification and examples are to be regarded as illustrative only, and the true scope and spirit of the present disclosure are indicated by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A short message processing method in a non-terrestrial network scenario, characterized in that: The method is applied to non-terrestrial network elements, including: Feedback a request retransmission time parameter to the terrestrial short message service network element, wherein the request retransmission time parameter is used to indicate the time for retransmission of the downlink short message.

2. The short message processing method in a non-terrestrial network scenario according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the non-terrestrial network element is a network element deployed on a satellite, the requested retransmission time parameter is determined by at least one of the following information: ephemeris information, on-board resource information, and load conditions.

3. The short message processing method in a non-terrestrial network scenario according to claim 1, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Sending store-and-forward mode indication information to a terrestrial short message service network element, wherein the store-and-forward mode indication information is used to instruct a non-terrestrial network carrier where the non-terrestrial network element is located to use the store-and-forward mode for data transmission.

4. The short message processing method in a non-terrestrial network scenario according to claim 1, characterized in that: The requested retransmission time parameter is less than or equal to the maximum retransmission time parameter.

5. The short message processing method in a non-terrestrial network scenario according to claim 1, characterized in that: The requested retransmission time parameter is greater than the maximum retransmission time parameter.

6. The short message processing method in a non-terrestrial network scenario according to claim 1, characterized in that: Before feeding back the request retransmission time parameter to the terrestrial short message service network element, the method further includes: Determine whether the downlink short message needs to be retransmitted.

7. The short message processing method in a non-terrestrial network scenario according to claim 6, characterized in that: After determining whether the downlink short message needs to be retransmitted, the method further includes: If it is determined that the downlink short message needs to be retransmitted, a retransmission time parameter is fed back to the terrestrial short message service network element.

8. The short message processing method in a non-terrestrial network scenario according to claim 7, characterized in that: After feeding back the request retransmission time parameter to the terrestrial short message service network element, the method further includes: If a downlink short message is received that is retransmitted by the terrestrial short message service network element within the time indicated by the requested retransmission time parameter, a short message forwarding process between the terrestrial short message service network element and the short message terminal is executed.

9. The short message processing method in a non-terrestrial network scenario according to claim 6, characterized in that: After determining whether the downlink short message needs to be retransmitted, the method further includes: If it is determined that the downlink short message does not need to be retransmitted, the short message forwarding process between the terrestrial short message service network element and the short message terminal is executed.

10. The short message processing method in a non-terrestrial network scenario according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that: The short message forwarding process between the terrestrial short message service network element and the short message terminal includes: storing the downlink short message sent by the terrestrial short message service network element to the short message terminal; When the non-terrestrial network element is connected to the short message terminal, the stored downlink short message is forwarded to the short message terminal.

11. The short message processing method in a non-terrestrial network scenario according to claim 10, characterized in that: The method further comprises: When the non-terrestrial network element is connected to the short message terminal, receiving and storing a delivery report or an uplink short message sent by the short message terminal to the terrestrial short message service network element; When the non-terrestrial network element is connected to the terrestrial short message service network element, the stored delivery report or uplink short message is sent to the terrestrial short message service network element.

12. The short message processing method in a non-terrestrial network scenario according to claim 1, characterized in that: The ground short message service network element is a ground short message service gateway with short message function.

13. The short message processing method in a non-terrestrial network scenario according to claim 12, characterized in that: Before feeding back the request retransmission time parameter to the terrestrial short message service network element, the method further includes: receiving a short message forwarding request message from a short message gateway, wherein the short message forwarding request message includes: a maximum retransmission time parameter; The feeding back of the request retransmission time parameter to the terrestrial short message service network element includes: returning a short message forwarding response message to the short message gateway, wherein the short message forwarding response message includes: the request retransmission time parameter.

14. The short message processing method in a non-terrestrial network scenario according to claim 12 or 11, characterized in that: The short message service gateway is a short message service gateway mobile switching center SMS-GMSC.

15. The short message processing method in a non-terrestrial network scenario according to claim 1, characterized in that: The non-terrestrial network element is a mobility management entity MME deployed on a satellite.

16. A short message processing method in a non-terrestrial network scenario, characterized in that: The method is applied to a terrestrial short message service network element, including: Receive a request retransmission time parameter fed back by a non-terrestrial network element, wherein the request retransmission time parameter is used to indicate a time for retransmitting a downlink short message.

17. The short message processing method in a non-terrestrial network scenario according to claim 16, characterized in that: After receiving the requested retransmission time parameter fed back by the non-terrestrial network element, the method further includes: The downlink short message is retransmitted according to the received request retransmission time parameter.

18. The short message processing method in a non-terrestrial network scenario according to claim 16, characterized in that: The method further comprises: If the requested retransmission time parameter fed back by the non-terrestrial network element is not received within the maximum retransmission time, the downlink short message is retransmitted according to the maximum retransmission time, wherein the requested retransmission time parameter is used to indicate the time for retransmitting the downlink short message.

19. A non-terrestrial network element device, characterized in that: include: The short message request retransmission parameter feedback module is used to feed back a request retransmission time parameter to the terrestrial short message service network element, wherein the request retransmission time parameter is used to indicate the time for retransmission of the downlink short message.

20. A terrestrial short message service network element device, characterized in that: include: The short message request retransmission parameter receiving module is used to receive a request retransmission time parameter fed back by a non-terrestrial network element, wherein the request retransmission time parameter is used to indicate a time for retransmitting a downlink short message.

21. The terrestrial short message service network element device according to claim 20, characterized in that: The terrestrial short message service network element equipment further includes: The short message retransmission module is used to retransmit the downlink short message according to the received request retransmission time parameter if a request retransmission time parameter later than the maximum retransmission time is received.

22. The terrestrial short message service network element device according to claim 21, characterized in that: The short message retransmission module is also used to: if the requested retransmission time parameter fed back by the non-terrestrial network element is not received within the maximum retransmission time, then retransmit the downlink short message according to the maximum retransmission time, wherein the requested retransmission time parameter is used to indicate the time for retransmission of the downlink short message.

23. A short message service system, characterized in that: include: Non-terrestrial network elements and terrestrial short message service network elements; The non-terrestrial network element is used to feed back a request retransmission time parameter to the terrestrial short message service network element, wherein the request retransmission time parameter is used to indicate a time for retransmission of a downlink short message.

24. An electronic device, characterized in that: include: processor; as well as a memory for storing executable instructions of the processor; The processor is configured to execute the short message processing method in a non-terrestrial network scenario according to any one of claims 1 to 18 by executing the executable instructions.

25. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that: When the computer program is executed by a processor, the short message processing method in a non-terrestrial network scenario according to any one of claims 1 to 18 is implemented.

26. A computer program product comprising: A computer program or instruction, characterized in that when the computer program or instruction is executed by a processor, it implements the short message processing method in a non-terrestrial network scenario as described in any one of claims 1 to 18.

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