Communication method, device, equipment, storage medium, chip, product and program

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a communication method and device, equipment, a storage medium, a chip, a product and a program. The method comprises the steps that terminal equipment receives an operation request for at least one electronic tag and / or identification information of the at least one electronic tag sent by a first network element; and the terminal equipment executes the operation on the at least one electronic tag.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of Chinese patent application No. 202280100424.8, which entered the Chinese national phase of PCT international patent application PCT / CN2022 / 123330, filed on September 30, 2022, and entitled "Communication Method, Apparatus, Device, Storage Medium, Chip, Product and Program". Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of mobile communication technology, specifically to a communication method, apparatus, device, storage medium, chip, product, and program. Background Technology

[0003] Electronic tags can be used for local management and communication of items. The distance between passive electronic tags and readers is generally about 1 meter, while the distance between active electronic tags and readers is generally about 100 meters. Therefore, it is inconvenient to operate electronic tags remotely. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application provides a communication method, apparatus, device, storage medium, chip, product, and program.

[0005] In a first aspect, embodiments of this application provide a communication method, the method comprising:

[0006] The terminal device receives an operation request for at least one electronic tag and / or the identification information of the at least one electronic tag sent by the first network element;

[0007] The terminal device performs the operation on at least one electronic tag.

[0008] Secondly, embodiments of this application provide a communication method, the method comprising:

[0009] The first network element receives the terminal device identifier sent by the second network element or the third network element, as well as the operation request for at least one electronic tag and / or the identification information of the at least one electronic tag;

[0010] The first network element sends the operation request and / or the identification information of the at least one electronic tag to the terminal device corresponding to the terminal device identifier.

[0011] Thirdly, embodiments of this application provide a communication method, the method comprising:

[0012] The second network element receives an operation request for at least one electronic tag and / or the identification information of the at least one electronic tag sent by the third network element;

[0013] The second network element identifies the terminal device associated with the at least one electronic tag.

[0014] Fourthly, embodiments of this application provide a communication method, the method comprising:

[0015] The third network element receives an operation request for at least one electronic tag and / or the identification information of the at least one electronic tag sent by the application function (AF) entity;

[0016] The third network element sends the operation request and / or the identification information of the at least one electronic tag to the second network element, or the third network element determines the terminal device associated with the at least one electronic tag.

[0017] Fifthly, embodiments of this application provide a communication device, including:

[0018] A communication unit is configured to receive an operation request for at least one electronic tag and / or the identification information of the at least one electronic tag sent by a first network element;

[0019] An execution unit is used to perform the operation on at least one electronic tag.

[0020] Sixthly, embodiments of this application provide a communication device, including: a communication unit, used for:

[0021] Receive terminal device identifiers sent by a second network element or a third network element, as well as operation requests for at least one electronic tag and / or identification information of the at least one electronic tag;

[0022] Send the operation request and / or the identification information of the at least one electronic tag to the terminal device corresponding to the terminal device identifier.

[0023] In a seventh aspect, embodiments of this application provide a communication device, including:

[0024] A communication unit is used to receive an operation request for at least one electronic tag and / or the identification information of the at least one electronic tag sent by a third network element;

[0025] A determining unit is used to determine the terminal device associated with the at least one electronic tag.

[0026] Eighthly, embodiments of this application provide a communication device, including:

[0027] A communication unit is configured to receive an operation request for at least one electronic tag and / or identification information of the at least one electronic tag sent by an application function (AF) entity;

[0028] The communication unit is further configured to send the operation request and / or the identification information of the at least one electronic tag to the second network element; or, the communication device may further include a determining unit, which is configured to determine the terminal device associated with the at least one electronic tag.

[0029] Ninthly, embodiments of this application provide a communication device, including: a processor and a memory.

[0030] The memory stores computer programs that can run on the processor.

[0031] When the processor executes the program, it implements the method described in the first, second, third, or fourth aspect.

[0032] In a tenth aspect, embodiments of this application provide a computer storage medium storing one or more programs, which can be executed by one or more processors to implement the methods described in the first, second, third, or fourth aspects.

[0033] Eleventhly, embodiments of this application provide a chip, including: a processor, configured to call and run a computer program from a memory to implement the methods described in the first, second, third, or fourth aspects.

[0034] In a twelfth aspect, embodiments of this application provide a computer program product, the computer program product including a computer storage medium storing a computer program, the computer program including instructions executable by at least one processor, which, when executed by the at least one processor, implement the methods described in the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, or the fourth aspect.

[0035] In a thirteenth aspect, embodiments of this application provide a computer program that causes a computer to perform the methods described in the first, second, third, or fourth aspects.

[0036] In this embodiment, the terminal device receives an operation request for at least one electronic tag and / or the identification information of the at least one electronic tag sent by a first network element; the terminal device then performs the operation on the at least one electronic tag. In this way, the terminal device performs operations on at least one electronic tag using the information of the at least one electronic tag sent by the first network element, thereby enabling remote operation of the electronic tag and expanding its application scope. Attached Figure Description

[0037] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of this application and form part of this application, illustrate exemplary embodiments and are used to explain this application, but do not constitute an undue limitation of this application. In the drawings:

[0038] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram illustrating an application scenario of an embodiment of this application;

[0039] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a system architecture based on a reference point presentation method is provided for an embodiment of this application;

[0040] Figure 3 A flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0041] Figure 4 A flowchart illustrating another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0042] Figure 5 A flowchart illustrating yet another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0043] Figure 6 A flowchart illustrating another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0044] Figure 7 A flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in another embodiment of this application;

[0045] Figure 8 A flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in yet another embodiment of this application;

[0046] Figure 9 A flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in yet another embodiment of this application;

[0047] Figure 10 A flowchart illustrating another communication method provided in another embodiment of this application;

[0048] Figure 11 A flowchart illustrating yet another communication method provided in another embodiment of this application;

[0049] Figure 12 A flowchart illustrating another communication method provided in another embodiment of this application;

[0050] Figure 13 This is a schematic diagram of the structural composition of the communication device provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0051] Figure 14 This is a schematic diagram of the structural composition of another communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0052] Figure 15 This is a schematic diagram of the structural composition of another communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0053] Figure 16 This is a schematic diagram of the structural composition of another communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0054] Figure 17 A schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0055] Figure 18 This is a schematic structural diagram of a chip according to an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0056] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of this application, and not all of them. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of this application without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0057] The technical solutions described in the embodiments of this application can be combined arbitrarily without conflict. In the description of this application, "multiple" means two or more, unless otherwise explicitly specified.

[0058] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram illustrating an application scenario of an embodiment of this application. For example... Figure 1 As shown, the communication system 100 may include a terminal device 110, an access network device 120, and a core network device 130. The access network device 120 can communicate with the terminal device 110 via an air interface. Multi-service transmission is supported between the terminal device 110 and the access network device 120.

[0059] It should be understood that the embodiments of this application are only illustrated by way of example with communication system 100, but the embodiments of this application are not limited thereto. That is to say, the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD) system, Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), Internet of Things (IoT) system, Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) system, enhanced Machine-Type Communications (eMTC) system, 5th generation (5G) communication system (also known as New Radio (NR) communication system), or future communication systems (such as 6G, 7G communication systems), etc.

[0060] Access network device 120 can provide communication coverage for a specific geographical area and can communicate with terminal device 110 (e.g., UE) located within that coverage area.

[0061] The various functional units in the communication system 100 can also establish connections and communicate with each other through the next generation (NG) interface.

[0062] For example, terminal devices establish air interface connections with access network devices through the NR interface for transmitting user plane data and control plane signaling; terminal devices can establish control plane signaling connections with the AMF through NG interface 1 (N1); access network devices, such as next-generation radio access base stations (gNB), can establish user plane data connections with the UPF through NG interface 3 (N3); access network devices can establish control plane signaling connections with the AMF through NG interface 2 (N2); the UPF can establish control plane signaling connections with the SMF through NG interface 4 (N4); the UPF can interact with the data network for user plane data through NG interface 6 (N6); the AMF can establish control plane signaling connections with the SMF through NG interface 11 (N11); and the SMF can establish control plane signaling connections with the PCF through NG interface 7 (N7).

[0063] Figure 1An exemplary embodiment shows a base station, a core network device, and two terminal devices. Optionally, the wireless communication system 100 may include multiple base station devices, and each base station may include other numbers of terminal devices within its coverage area. This application embodiment does not limit this.

[0064] It should be noted that, Figure 1 This application merely illustrates the system to which this application applies; of course, the methods shown in the embodiments of this application can also be applied to other systems. Furthermore, the terms "system" and "network" are often used interchangeably herein. The term "and / or" in this application merely describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A existing alone, A and B existing simultaneously, or B existing alone. Additionally, the character " / " in this application generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects have an "or" relationship. It should also be understood that "instruction" mentioned in the embodiments of this application can be a direct instruction, an indirect instruction, or an indication of a related relationship. For example, A instructing B can mean that A directly instructs B, for example, B can be obtained through A; it can also mean that A indirectly instructs B, for example, A instructs C, B can be obtained through C; or it can mean that there is a related relationship between A and B. It should also be understood that "correspondence" mentioned in the embodiments of this application can indicate a direct or indirect correspondence between two things, or an related relationship between two things, or a relationship of instruction and being instructed, configuration and being configured, etc. It should also be understood that the "predefined," "protocol agreement," "predetermined," or "predefined rule" mentioned in the embodiments of this application can be implemented by pre-storing corresponding codes, tables, or other means that can be used to indicate relevant information in the device (e.g., including terminal devices and network devices). This application does not limit the specific implementation method. For example, predefined can refer to what is defined in a protocol. It should also be understood that in the embodiments of this application, the "protocol" can refer to standard protocols in the field of communication, such as the LTE protocol, the NR protocol, and related protocols applied to future communication systems. This application does not limit this.

[0065] The terminal device in the embodiments of this application may be referred to as User Equipment (UE), Mobile Station (MS), Mobile Terminal (MT), User Unit, User Station, Mobile Station, Remote Station, Remote Terminal, Mobile Device, User Terminal, Terminal, Wireless Communication Equipment, User Agent, or User Apparatus. Terminal devices may include one or more of the following, or a combination of at least two: readers, devices including readers, devices with reader functionality, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, satellite terminals, Wireless Local Loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld devices with wireless communication capabilities, computing devices or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem, servers, mobile phones, tablets, computers with wireless transceiver capabilities, PDAs, desktop computers, personal digital assistants, portable media players, smart speakers, navigation devices, smartwatches, smart glasses, smart necklaces and other wearable devices, pedometers, digital TVs, virtual reality (VR) terminal devices, augmented reality (AR) terminal devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, and wireless terminals in smart cities. Wireless terminals in cities, wireless terminals in smart homes, and vehicles, in-vehicle equipment, in-vehicle modules, wireless modems, handheld devices, customer premises equipment (CPE), and smart home appliances in vehicle networking systems.

[0066] Optionally, the terminal device can be any terminal device, including but not limited to terminal devices that are connected to the access network device or other terminal devices via wired or wireless connections.

[0067] Optionally, the terminal device can be used for device-to-device (D2D) communication.

[0068] Access network equipment may include one or a combination of at least the following: Evolutionary Node B (eNB or eNodeB) in Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG RAN) equipment, base stations (gNB) in NR systems, small cells, micro cells, radio controllers in Cloud Radio Access Network (CRAN), access points for Wireless-Fidelity (Wi-Fi), transmission reception points (TRPs), relay stations, access points, vehicle-mounted equipment, wearable devices, hubs, switches, bridges, routers, and network equipment in the future evolved Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), etc.

[0069] The core network equipment can be a 5G core network (5G Core, 5GC) device, which may include one or a combination of at least two of the following: Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), User Plane Function (UPF), Session Management Function (SMF), Location Management Function (LMF), and Policy Control Function (PCF). In other embodiments, the core network equipment may also be an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) device of an LTE network, for example, a Session Management Function + Core Packet Gateway (SMF+PGW-C) device. It should be understood that SMF+PGW-C can simultaneously implement the functions of both SMF and PGW-C. During network evolution, the above-mentioned core network equipment may also be called by other names, or new network entities may be formed by dividing the functions of the core network; this application embodiment does not limit this.

[0070] To facilitate understanding of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, the related technologies of the embodiments of this application are described below. The related technologies described below are optional solutions and can be combined with the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application in any way, and they all fall within the protection scope of the embodiments of this application.

[0071] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a system architecture based on a reference point presentation method is provided for an embodiment of this application, such as... Figure 2 As shown, the reference point presentation method can demonstrate the interaction that can exist between corresponding Network Function (NF) services. Network functions include, for example: Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 201, Session Management Function (SMF) 202, Policy Control Function (PCF) 203, Application Function (AF) 204, User Plane Function (UPF) 205, Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF) 206, Authentication Server Function (AUSF) 207, and Unified Data Management (UDM) 208, etc. The system may also include: UE 209, Radio Access Network (RAN) or Access Node (AN) 210, and Data Network (DN) 211.

[0072] Figure 2The following reference points are shown: N1 (between UE 209 and AMF 201), N2 (between RAN 210 and AMF 201), N3 (between RAN 210 and UPF 205), N4 (between SMF 202 and UPF 205), N5 (between PCF 203 and AF 204), N6 (between UPF 205 and DN 211), N7 (between SMF 202 and PCF 203), N8 (between UDM 208 and AMF 201), N9 (between the two UPF 205s), N10 (between UDM 208 and SMF 202), N11 (between AMF 201 and SMF 202), N12 (between ASF 207 and AMF 201), N13 (between ASF 207 and UDM 208), N14 (between the two AMFs). N15 (between PCF 201 and AMF 201 in non-roaming situations, or between PCF 203 and the visited network and AMF 201 in roaming situations), N16 (between the two SMFs; not shown), and N22 (between AMF 201 and NSSF 206).

[0073] The following explains SMF, PCF, and AF:

[0074] SMF includes session establishment, modification and release, tunnel maintenance between UPF and AN nodes, terminal Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and control of UPF functions, billing data collection and billing interface support, etc.

[0075] PCF: Supports a unified policy framework for managing network behavior and provides operator network control policies to other network elements and terminals.

[0076] Applications Functions (AFs): These can be internal carrier applications, such as IP Multimedia Subsystems (IMS), or third-party services, such as web services, video, or games. If an AF is internal to the carrier and is within the same trusted domain as other network functions (NFs), it can directly interact and access other NFs. If the AF is not within a trusted domain, it requires a network exposure function (NEF) to access other NFs.

[0077] The UE establishes an access layer connection with the AN via the Uu interface, exchanging access layer messages and radio data. The UE also establishes a non-access stratum (NAS) connection with the AMF via the N1 interface, exchanging NAS messages. The AMF is the mobility management function in the core network, and the SMF is the session management function. In addition to managing the UE's mobility, the AMF is responsible for forwarding session management-related messages between the UE and the SMF. The PCF is the policy management function in the core network, responsible for formulating policies related to UE mobility management, session management, and charging. The UPF is the user plane function in the core network, transmitting data with the external data network via the N6 interface and with the AN via the N3 interface.

[0078] In a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) system, a reader is a device that reads information from or writes information to electronic tags. When an RFID system is working, the reader emits radio frequency energy to create an electromagnetic field within a designated area; the size of this area depends on the transmission power. Electronic tags within the reader's coverage area are triggered, sending or modifying the data stored within them according to the reader's instructions. The reader communicates with the electronic tags wirelessly, enabling contactless, two-way data communication, reading and writing data to achieve target identification and data exchange. Electronic tags generally consume little power and may not even require a power source or battery. For example, passive electronic tags can briefly power themselves by receiving microwave signals from the reader and by obtaining energy through an electromagnetic induction coil, thus completing information exchange. RFID has a relatively short transmission range and is used for local management and communication of goods, such as warehouse inventory management, file management, access control, or electronic toll payment on highways.

[0079] The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) network also considers designing new types of electronic tags, called Passive IoT tags or Ambient IoT tags. Unlike RFID, these electronic tags can communicate using the frequency resources of the 3GPP network. The electronic tags in this invention include, but are not limited to, RFID tags, Passive IoT tags, and Ambient IoT tags.

[0080] To facilitate understanding of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, the technical solutions of this application are described in detail below through specific embodiments. The above-mentioned related technologies are optional solutions and can be arbitrarily combined with the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, all of which fall within the protection scope of the embodiments of this application. The embodiments of this application include at least some of the following contents.

[0081] Figure 3 This is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application, such as... Figure 3 As shown, the method includes:

[0082] S301. The terminal device receives an operation request for at least one electronic tag and / or the identification information of the at least one electronic tag sent by the first network element.

[0083] S302, The terminal device performs the operation on at least one electronic tag.

[0084] Optionally, the first network element can be a network element serving the terminal equipment. Optionally, the first network element can be any one or more network elements in the core network equipment. Optionally, the first network element can include at least one of the following: AMF, SMF.

[0085] Optionally, the operation request and / or the identification information of the at least one electronic tag may be carried by NAS signaling or other signaling.

[0086] Optionally, an operation request may include at least one of the following: a request to obtain relevant information, a read request, a write request, a modify request, or a delete request.

[0087] Optionally, at least one electronic tag may be an electronic tag corresponding to a terminal device. For example, one or more electronic tags associated with the terminal device (optionally, the one or more electronic tags may be all electronic tags capable of communicating with the terminal device), the one or more electronic tags including at least one electronic tag. Optionally, at least one electronic tag may be a subset of one or more electronic tags.

[0088] Optionally, at least one portion of the electronic tag may be an electronic tag corresponding to a terminal device, and another portion of the electronic tag may be an electronic tag corresponding to one or more other terminal devices. For example, at least one portion of the electronic tag may be included in one or more electronic tags included in a terminal device, and another portion of the electronic tag may be included in one or more electronic tags included in another terminal device. Optionally, the terminal device may not perform any operation on the electronic tags corresponding to the other one or more terminal devices.

[0089] Optionally, one or more electronic tags associated with different terminal devices may not overlap, may partially overlap, or may completely overlap.

[0090] Optionally, the terminal device can communicate directly with the electronic tag, and / or, the terminal device can communicate indirectly with the electronic tag. For example, an implementation of indirect communication between the terminal device and the electronic tag may include: the terminal device communicating indirectly with the electronic tag via a reader / writer. Optionally, the terminal device and the reader / writer can exchange application layer data.

[0091] Optionally, the terminal device performing the operation on the at least one electronic tag may include: the terminal device performing the operation on the at least one electronic tag locally, or the terminal device performing the operation on the at least one electronic tag by sending information to the at least one electronic tag.

[0092] Optionally, the terminal device performing the operation on the at least one electronic tag may include: the terminal device obtaining information corresponding to the operation request of the at least one electronic tag from itself. Optionally, the information corresponding to the operation request of the at least one electronic tag may include relevant information of the at least one electronic tag. For example, before the terminal device receives the operation request sent by the first network element and / or the identification information of the at least one electronic tag, the terminal device may obtain relevant information of the at least one electronic tag, so that when the terminal device receives the operation request sent by the first network element and / or the identification information of the at least one electronic tag, the terminal device obtains relevant information of the at least one electronic tag from itself. Optionally, the terminal device may obtain relevant information of one or more electronic tags associated with the terminal device in real time, periodically, or non-periodically, and the relevant information of the one or more electronic tags may include relevant information of the at least one electronic tag.

[0093] Optionally, the terminal device performing the operation on the at least one electronic tag may include: the terminal device may send an operation request for each of the one or more electronic tags / at least one electronic tag associated with the terminal device. Optionally, the one or more electronic tags / at least one electronic tag may provide feedback information to the terminal device or not. For example, each of the one or more electronic tags / at least one electronic tag may provide first information to the terminal device, which may indicate at least one of the following: relevant information of each electronic tag, completion of adding information, completion of deleting information, or completion of modifying information.

[0094] For example, if at least one electronic tag includes A, B, and C, the terminal device performing the operation on the at least one electronic tag may include: the terminal device performing an operation on electronic tags A, B, and C; or, the terminal device performing an operation on any one or any two of electronic tags A, B, and C; or, the terminal device performing an operation on electronic tags A, B, C, and D.

[0095] In this embodiment, the terminal device receives an operation request for at least one electronic tag and / or the identification information of the at least one electronic tag sent by a first network element; the terminal device then performs the operation on the at least one electronic tag. In this way, the terminal device performs operations on at least one electronic tag using the information of the at least one electronic tag sent by the first network element, thereby enabling remote operation of the electronic tag and expanding its application scope.

[0096] In some embodiments, the operation request is used to request relevant information about the at least one electronic tag;

[0097] The terminal device performs the operation on at least one electronic tag, including:

[0098] The terminal device obtains relevant information about the at least one electronic tag.

[0099] Optionally, the terminal device obtaining the relevant information of the at least one electronic tag may include: the terminal device obtaining the relevant information of the at least one electronic tag from itself.

[0100] Optionally, upon obtaining information about at least one electronic tag, the terminal device may send or not send the information about at least one electronic tag to the first network element. Optionally, the terminal device may display the information about at least one electronic tag, or the terminal device may process the information about at least one electronic tag. Optionally, the terminal device may obtain specific information about at least one electronic tag, process the specific information about at least one electronic tag, and obtain the information about at least one electronic tag.

[0101] In some embodiments, the method further includes: the terminal device sending relevant information about the at least one electronic tag to the first network element. For example, after the terminal device obtains the relevant information about the at least one electronic tag, the terminal device sends the relevant information about the at least one electronic tag to the first network element.

[0102] Optionally, the terminal device can send relevant information about the at least one electronic tag to the first network element via NAS signaling.

[0103] In some embodiments, the method further includes: the terminal device obtaining relevant information of one or more electronic tags;

[0104] The terminal device obtains relevant information of the at least one electronic tag, including: the terminal device determines the relevant information of the at least one electronic tag from the relevant information of the one or more electronic tags.

[0105] Optionally, the terminal device may obtain information about one or more electronic tags before or after receiving an operation request sent by the first network element and / or the identification information of the at least one electronic tag. Optionally, the one or more electronic tags may be all or some of the electronic tags associated with the terminal device.

[0106] Optionally, the terminal device obtaining relevant information of one or more electronic tags may include: the terminal device sending a request to each of the one or more electronic tags associated with the terminal device to obtain relevant information / stored information of the electronic tag, and the terminal device receiving the relevant information / stored information of the electronic tag sent by each of the one or more electronic tags.

[0107] Optionally, the terminal device can determine relevant information about the electronic tag based on its stored information. Optionally, the stored information can be included in the relevant information. The stored information can be information stored in the electronic tag. For example, the relevant information can include the timestamp information of the stored information obtained by the terminal device. As another example, the relevant information can include the location information of the electronic tag, which can be included in the stored information, or the location information can be determined by the terminal device based on information sent to the electronic tag by the terminal device and / or information received by the terminal device from the electronic tag.

[0108] Optionally, the terminal device obtaining information about one or more electronic tags may include: the terminal device sending a first request to one or more associated readers to obtain relevant information / stored information about the electronic tags; each of the one or more readers, upon receiving the first request, sending a second request to the one or more electronic tags associated with each reader to obtain relevant information / stored information about the electronic tags; then, each reader receiving the relevant information / stored information about the electronic tags sent by the one or more associated electronic tags; and finally, each reader sending the received relevant information / stored information about the one or more associated electronic tags to the terminal device, thereby the terminal device obtaining the relevant information / stored information about one or more electronic tags. Optionally, the one or more readers associated with the terminal device may be all or some of the readers associated with the terminal device. Optionally, the one or more electronic tags associated with each reader may be all or some of the electronic tags associated with each reader.

[0109] In other embodiments, the terminal device obtaining the relevant information of the at least one electronic tag may include: the terminal device sending a request to each of the at least one electronic tag to obtain the relevant information / stored information of the electronic tag, and the terminal device receiving the relevant information / stored information of the electronic tag sent by each of the at least one electronic tag.

[0110] In some other embodiments, the terminal device obtaining the relevant information of the at least one electronic tag may include: the terminal device determining at least one reader / writer corresponding to the at least one electronic tag; the terminal device sending a third request to the at least one reader / writer for obtaining the relevant information / stored information of the electronic tag; each of the one or more readers / writers, upon receiving the third request, sending a fourth request to the at least one electronic tag associated with each reader / writer for obtaining the relevant information / stored information of the electronic tag; then, each reader / writer receiving the relevant information / stored information of the electronic tag sent by the at least one associated electronic tag; and then, each reader / writer sending the received relevant information / stored information of the at least one associated electronic tag to the terminal device, thereby the terminal device obtaining the relevant information / stored information of the at least one electronic tag. Optionally, the third request may include some or all of the identification information of the electronic tags corresponding to each reader / writer. Optionally, the identification information of the electronic tags included in the third requests sent to different readers / writers does not overlap.

[0111] In some embodiments, the relevant information includes information of a specific type.

[0112] In some embodiments, the relevant information or specific type of information may include at least one of the following: identification information, location information, status information, timestamp information added by the terminal device, stored information, and information determined based on the stored information.

[0113] Optionally, the location information may include the relative location information of the electronic tag with respect to the terminal device, and / or the absolute location information of the electronic tag.

[0114] Optionally, the status information can be used to indicate the status of the object corresponding to the electronic tag. For example, the status of the object may include at least one of the following: the object is in a warehouse, the object is on a shelf, the object is on display, the object is being used, etc.

[0115] Optionally, the timestamp information added by the terminal device may include: timestamp information of the terminal device receiving the stored information sent by the electronic tag, and / or timestamp information of the electronic tag sending to the terminal device, and / or timestamp information of the terminal device sending a request to the electronic tag to obtain relevant information / stored information of the electronic tag.

[0116] Optionally, the stored information can be the aforementioned stored information. Optionally, the stored information can be some or all of the information stored in the electronic tag.

[0117] Optionally, the information determined based on the stored information may include: information that encrypts the stored information, information that modifies the stored information, or information obtained by processing or calculating the stored information.

[0118] In some embodiments, the location information includes at least one of the following: absolute location information, relative location information relative to the terminal device, and location information of the area.

[0119] Optionally, the location information in the absolute and / or relative location information may include: coordinate information, latitude and longitude information, location information, location identification information, and Global Location Number (GLN).

[0120] Optionally, the regional location information may include: house location information, road location information, residential community location information, street location information, district / county location information, city location information, etc.

[0121] In some embodiments, the operation request is used to request at least one of the following: writing information into the at least one electronic tag, deleting at least a portion of the information in the at least one electronic tag, or modifying at least a portion of the information in the at least one electronic tag;

[0122] The terminal device performs the operation on at least one electronic tag, including at least one of the following:

[0123] The terminal device writes information into the at least one electronic tag;

[0124] The terminal device deletes at least some information from the at least one electronic tag;

[0125] The terminal device modifies at least some of the information in the at least one electronic tag.

[0126] Optionally, the operation request may include one or more bits, through different values ​​of the one or more bits, indicating that information is written to the at least one electronic tag, or that at least part of the information in the at least one electronic tag is deleted, or that at least part of the information in the at least one electronic tag is modified.

[0127] Optionally, the operation request may include: information to be written and / or the type of information to be written, thereby instructing the writing of information to the at least one electronic tag by indicating the type of information to be written and / or the type of information to be written.

[0128] Optionally, the operation request may include: information to be deleted and / or the type of information to be deleted, thereby indicating the deletion of at least a portion of the information in the at least one electronic tag by means of the information to be deleted and / or the type of information to be deleted.

[0129] Optionally, the operation request may include at least one of the following: information to be modified, modified information, type of information to be modified, and type of modified information, thereby instructing modification of at least a portion of the information in the at least one electronic tag through at least one of the information to be modified, modified information, type of information to be modified, and type of modified information.

[0130] In some embodiments, the operation request includes at least one of the following: information to be written, information to be deleted, information to be modified, modified information, the type of information to be written, the type of information to be deleted, the type of information to be modified, and the type of modified information;

[0131] The step of writing information into the at least one electronic tag includes: writing the information to be written and / or information corresponding to the type of the information to be written into the at least one electronic tag;

[0132] The deletion of at least some information in the at least one electronic tag includes: deleting the information to be deleted and / or the information corresponding to the type of the information to be deleted in the at least one electronic tag;

[0133] The modification of at least some information in the at least one electronic tag includes: deleting the information to be modified and / or the information corresponding to the type of the information to be modified in the at least one electronic tag, and writing the modified information and / or the information corresponding to the type of the modified information into the at least one electronic tag.

[0134] Optionally, the type of information to be written, the type of information to be deleted, or the type of information to be modified may include at least one of the following: identification information, location information, status information, etc. For example, the terminal device may determine that if at least one of the identification information, location information, and status information does not exist in the electronic tag, it may write at least one of the identification information, location information, and status information into the electronic tag.

[0135] Optionally, the types of information to be written to different electronic tags can be the same or different. Optionally, the information corresponding to the same type of information to be written can be the same or different.

[0136] Optionally, the terminal device writing the information to be written and / or the information corresponding to the type of the information to be written into the at least one electronic tag may include: the terminal device sending the information to be written and / or the information corresponding to the type of the information to be written to each of the at least one electronic tag, each electronic tag receiving the information to be written and / or the information corresponding to the type of the information to be written and storing the information to be written and / or the information corresponding to the type of the information to be written; or, it may include: the terminal device sending a write request to at least one reader associated with at least one electronic tag, each of the at least one reader writing the information to be written and / or the information corresponding to the type of the information to be written into the associated electronic tag according to the write request; wherein the write request carries the information to be written and / or the information corresponding to the type of the information to be written.

[0137] Optionally, the types of information to be deleted in different electronic tags can be the same or different. Optionally, the information corresponding to the same type of information to be deleted can be the same or different.

[0138] Optionally, the deletion of the information to be deleted and / or the information corresponding to the type of the information to be deleted from the at least one electronic tag by the terminal device may include: the terminal device sending the information to be deleted and / or the information corresponding to the type of the information to be deleted to each of the at least one electronic tag, each electronic tag receiving the information to be deleted and / or the information corresponding to the type of the information to be deleted and storing the information to be deleted and / or the information corresponding to the type of the information to be deleted; or, it may include: the terminal device sending a deletion request to at least one reader associated with at least one electronic tag, each of the at least one reader deleting the information to be deleted and / or the information corresponding to the type of the information to be deleted from the associated electronic tag according to the deletion request; wherein the deletion request carries the information to be deleted and / or the information corresponding to the type of the information to be deleted.

[0139] Optionally, the types of information to be modified in different electronic tags can be the same or different. Optionally, the types of modified information in different electronic tags can be the same or different. Optionally, the information corresponding to the same type of information to be modified can be the same or different. Optionally, the information corresponding to the same type of modified information can be the same or different.

[0140] Optionally, the terminal device may delete the information to be modified and / or the information corresponding to the type of the information to be modified from the at least one electronic tag, and write the modified information and / or the information corresponding to the type of the modified information into the at least one electronic tag. This may include: the terminal device sending a modification request to each of the at least one electronic tag, and each electronic tag deleting the information to be modified and / or the information corresponding to the type of the information to be modified from the at least one electronic tag according to the modification request, and writing the modified information and / or the information corresponding to the type of the modified information into the at least one electronic tag. Alternatively, it may include: the terminal device sending a modification request to at least one reader associated with the at least one electronic tag, and each reader deleting the information to be modified and / or the information corresponding to the type of the information to be modified from the associated electronic tag according to the modification request, and writing the modified information and / or the information corresponding to the type of the modified information into the at least one electronic tag. The modification request may include at least one of the following: information to be modified, modified information, the type of information to be modified, and the type of modified information.

[0141] In some embodiments, after the terminal device performs the operation on at least one electronic tag, the terminal device may send a response message to the first network element.

[0142] In some embodiments, the method further includes: the terminal device sending a response message to the first network element; wherein the response message includes identification information of the at least one electronic tag and / or at least one of the following: indication information indicating success or failure of writing information into the at least one electronic tag, indication information indicating success or failure of deleting at least some information in the at least one electronic tag, and indication information indicating success or failure of modifying at least some information in the at least one electronic tag.

[0143] Optionally, the indication information may include one or more bits indicating at least one of the following: successful write, successful deletion, successful modification, failed write, failed deletion, or failed modification. Optionally, the indication information may include at least one of the following: the reason for the failed write, the reason for the failed deletion, or the reason for the failed modification.

[0144] Optionally, the response message may include an identifier for a successfully written electronic tag and / or an identifier for a failed written electronic tag. Optionally, the response message may include an identifier for a successfully deleted electronic tag and / or an identifier for a failed deleted electronic tag. Optionally, the response message may include an identifier for a successfully modified electronic tag and / or an identifier for a failed modified electronic tag.

[0145] In some embodiments, before the terminal device receives the operation request for at least one electronic tag and / or the identification information of the at least one electronic tag sent by the first network element, it further includes:

[0146] The terminal device obtains identification information from one or more electronic tags;

[0147] The terminal device sends the identification information of the one or more electronic tags to the first network element.

[0148] Optionally, the identification information of one or more electronic tags obtained by the terminal device may be determined based on the pre-configuration of the terminal device, or it may be configured to the terminal device by the access network device or other terminal devices.

[0149] In some embodiments, the identification information includes an Electronic Product Code (EPC). In other embodiments, the identification information may include at least one of the following: product code, product barcode, product QR code, product image, etc.

[0150] Figure 4 A flowchart illustrating another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application is shown below. Figure 4 As shown, the method includes:

[0151] S401, the first network element receives the terminal device identifier sent by the second network element or the third network element, as well as the operation request for at least one electronic tag and / or the identification information of the at least one electronic tag.

[0152] S402, the first network element sends the operation request and / or the identification information of the at least one electronic tag to the terminal device corresponding to the terminal device identifier.

[0153] Optionally, the terminal device identifier may include at least one of the following: Globally Unique Temporary Identity (GUTI), International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI), International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (TMSI), Packet-Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (P-TMSI), or user's mobile phone number.

[0154] In some embodiments, the operation request is used to request relevant information about the at least one electronic tag.

[0155] In some embodiments, the method further includes:

[0156] The first network element receives relevant information about the at least one electronic tag sent by the terminal device;

[0157] The first network element sends relevant information about the at least one electronic tag to the second network element or the third network element.

[0158] Wherein, after the first network element sends the operation request and / or the identification information of the at least one electronic tag to the terminal device corresponding to the terminal device identifier, the first network element receives the relevant information of the at least one electronic tag sent by the terminal device.

[0159] In some embodiments, the relevant information includes at least one of the following: identification information, location information, status information, timestamp information added by the terminal device, stored information, and information determined based on the stored information.

[0160] In some embodiments, the location information includes at least one of the following: absolute location information, relative location information relative to the terminal device, and location information of the area.

[0161] In some embodiments, the operation request is used to request at least one of the following: writing information into the at least one electronic tag, deleting at least a portion of the information in the at least one electronic tag, or modifying at least a portion of the information in the at least one electronic tag.

[0162] In some embodiments, the operation request includes at least one of the following: information to be written, information to be deleted, information to be modified, modified information, the type of information to be written, the type of information to be deleted, the type of information to be modified, and the type of modified information;

[0163] The step of writing information into the at least one electronic tag includes: writing the information to be written and / or information corresponding to the type of the information to be written into the at least one electronic tag;

[0164] The deletion of at least some information in the at least one electronic tag includes: deleting the information to be deleted and / or the information corresponding to the type of the information to be deleted in the at least one electronic tag;

[0165] The modification of at least some information in the at least one electronic tag includes: deleting the information to be modified and / or the information corresponding to the type of the information to be modified in the at least one electronic tag, and writing the modified information and / or the information corresponding to the type of the modified information into the at least one electronic tag.

[0166] In some embodiments, the method further includes:

[0167] The first network element receives a response message sent by the terminal device; wherein the response message includes identification information of the at least one electronic tag and / or at least one of the following: indication information indicating success or failure of writing information into the at least one electronic tag, indication information indicating success or failure of deleting at least some information in the at least one electronic tag, and indication information indicating success or failure of modifying at least some information in the at least one electronic tag.

[0168] The first network element sends the response message to the second network element or the third network element.

[0169] Wherein, after the first network element sends the operation request and / or the identification information of the at least one electronic tag to the terminal device corresponding to the terminal device identifier, the first network element receives the response message sent by the terminal device.

[0170] In some embodiments, before the first network element receives the terminal device identifier sent by the second network element or the third network element, and the operation request for at least one electronic tag and / or the identification information of the at least one electronic tag, the method further includes:

[0171] The first network element receives identification information of one or more electronic tags sent by the terminal device;

[0172] The first network element sends the terminal device identifier and the identification information of one or more electronic tags associated with the terminal device to the second network element or the third network element.

[0173] Optionally, the terminal device identifier can be sent by the terminal device to the first network element.

[0174] In some embodiments, the identification information includes the Electronic Product Code (EPC).

[0175] Figure 5 A flowchart illustrating another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application is shown below. Figure 5 As shown, the method includes:

[0176] S501, the second network element receives an operation request for at least one electronic tag and / or the identification information of the at least one electronic tag sent by the third network element.

[0177] S502, the second network element determines the terminal device associated with the at least one electronic tag.

[0178] Optionally, the second network element may include a network element capable of obtaining the identifier of at least one terminal device associated with an electronic tag. For example, the second network element may store the terminal device identifier and the identification information of at least one associated electronic tag. Alternatively, the second network element may obtain the terminal device identifier and the identification information of at least one associated electronic tag from other devices or other network elements.

[0179] Optionally, the second network element can be a network element within the 5GC, or it can be a network element outside the 5GC. For example, the second network element may include at least one of the following: UDM, Unified Data Repository (UDR), Network Repository Function (NRF), Unstructured Data Storage Function (UDSF), etc. As another example, the second network element can be a new network element defined in the protocol, or it can be a core network element in a 6G or 7G system.

[0180] In some embodiments, the method further includes: the second network element sending a terminal device identifier associated with the identification information of the at least one electronic tag, and the operation request and / or the identification information of the at least one electronic tag, to a first network element serving the terminal device. This step is performed after the second network element determines the terminal device associated with the at least one electronic tag.

[0181] In some embodiments, the method further includes: the second network element sending a terminal device identifier associated with the identification information of the at least one electronic tag to the third network element. This step is performed after the second network element determines the terminal device associated with the at least one electronic tag.

[0182] In some embodiments, the operation request is used to request relevant information about the at least one electronic tag.

[0183] In some embodiments, the relevant information includes at least one of the following: identification information, location information, status information, timestamp information added by the terminal device, stored information, and information determined based on the stored information.

[0184] In some embodiments, the location information includes at least one of the following: absolute location information, relative location information relative to the terminal device, and location information of the area.

[0185] In some embodiments, the operation request is used to request at least one of the following: writing information into the at least one electronic tag, deleting at least a portion of the information in the at least one electronic tag, or modifying at least a portion of the information in the at least one electronic tag.

[0186] In some embodiments, the operation request includes at least one of the following: information to be written, information to be deleted, information to be modified, modified information, the type of information to be written, the type of information to be deleted, the type of information to be modified, and the type of modified information;

[0187] The step of writing information into the at least one electronic tag includes: writing the information to be written and / or information corresponding to the type of the information to be written into the at least one electronic tag;

[0188] The deletion of at least some information in the at least one electronic tag includes: deleting the information to be deleted and / or the information corresponding to the type of the information to be deleted in the at least one electronic tag;

[0189] The modification of at least some information in the at least one electronic tag includes: deleting the information to be modified and / or the information corresponding to the type of the information to be modified in the at least one electronic tag, and writing the modified information and / or the information corresponding to the type of the modified information into the at least one electronic tag.

[0190] In some embodiments, before the second network element receives the operation request for at least one electronic tag and / or the identification information of the at least one electronic tag sent by the third network element, the method further includes:

[0191] The second network element receives the terminal device identifier and identification information of one or more electronic tags associated with the terminal device sent by the first network element serving the terminal device;

[0192] The second network element stores the terminal device identifier and the identification information of one or more electronic tags associated with the terminal device.

[0193] In some embodiments, the identification information includes the Electronic Product Code (EPC).

[0194] Figure 6 A flowchart illustrating another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application is shown below. Figure 6 As shown, the method includes:

[0195] S601, the third network element receives an operation request for at least one electronic tag and / or the identification information of the at least one electronic tag sent by the application function AF entity.

[0196] S602a or S602b can be executed after S601.

[0197] S602a, the third network element sends the operation request and / or the identification information of the at least one electronic tag to the second network element.

[0198] S602b, The third network element determines the terminal device associated with the at least one electronic tag.

[0199] Optionally, the third network element can be a network element capable of communicating with the AF entity. Optionally, the third network element can be the same network element as the second network element, or the third network element can be a different network element from the second network element.

[0200] Optionally, the third network element can be a network element in 5GC, or it can be a network element outside of 5GC. For example, the third network element can include at least one of the following: NEF, PCF, etc. As another example, the third network element can be a new network element defined in the protocol, or it can be a core network element in a 6G or 7G system.

[0201] In some embodiments, after the third network element determines the terminal device associated with the at least one electronic tag, the method further includes: the third network element sending a terminal device identifier associated with the identification information of the at least one electronic tag, as well as the operation request and / or the identification information of the at least one electronic tag, to a first network element serving the terminal device.

[0202] In some embodiments, the third network element determines the terminal device associated with the at least one electronic tag by: the third network element determining the terminal device identifier based on a stored terminal device identifier and the identifier information of one or more electronic tags associated with the terminal device.

[0203] In some embodiments, the third network element determines the terminal device associated with the at least one electronic tag by: the third network element sending identification information of the at least one electronic tag to the second network element, and the third network element receiving the terminal device identifier sent by the second network element.

[0204] In some embodiments, the operation request is used to request relevant information about the at least one electronic tag.

[0205] In some embodiments, the method further includes:

[0206] The third network element receives relevant information about the at least one electronic tag sent by the first network element serving the terminal device;

[0207] The third network element sends the relevant information of the at least one electronic tag to the AF entity, or the third network element processes the relevant information of the at least one electronic tag to obtain target information, and then sends the target information to the AF entity.

[0208] The third network element receives the relevant information of the at least one electronic tag sent by the first network element serving the terminal device after the third network element sends the terminal device identifier associated with the identification information of the at least one electronic tag, as well as the operation request and / or the identification information of the at least one electronic tag to the first network element serving the terminal device.

[0209] In some embodiments, the relevant information of the at least one electronic tag includes: the relative position information of the at least one electronic tag relative to the terminal device; the target information includes: the absolute position information of the at least one electronic tag;

[0210] The third network element processes the relevant information of the at least one electronic tag to obtain target information, including:

[0211] The third network element determines the absolute position information of the at least one electronic tag based on the relative position information of the at least one electronic tag with respect to the terminal device and the absolute position information of the terminal device.

[0212] Optionally, upon receiving an operation request for at least one electronic tag sent by the application function AF entity and / or the identification information of the at least one electronic tag, the third network element may obtain the absolute location information of the terminal device, and thus, upon receiving the relative location information sent by the first network element, determine the absolute location information of the at least one electronic tag based on the relative location information and the absolute location information of the terminal device.

[0213] Optionally, the third network element may obtain the absolute location information of the terminal device upon receiving the relative location information sent by the first network element, and thereby determine the absolute location information of the at least one electronic tag based on the relative location information and the absolute location information of the terminal device.

[0214] Optionally, the third network element may store the absolute location information of the terminal device, or the third network element may obtain the absolute location information of the terminal device from another network element. For example, the other network element may be a Location Management Function (LMF) or other application network element.

[0215] In some embodiments, the relevant information includes at least one of the following: identification information, location information, status information, timestamp information added by the terminal device, stored information, and information determined based on the stored information.

[0216] In some embodiments, the location information includes at least one of the following: absolute location information, relative location information relative to the terminal device, and location information of the area.

[0217] In some embodiments, the operation request is used to request at least one of the following: writing information into the at least one electronic tag, deleting at least a portion of the information in the at least one electronic tag, or modifying at least a portion of the information in the at least one electronic tag.

[0218] In some embodiments, the operation request includes at least one of the following: information to be written, information to be deleted, information to be modified, modified information, the type of information to be written, the type of information to be deleted, the type of information to be modified, and the type of modified information;

[0219] The step of writing information into the at least one electronic tag includes: writing the information to be written and / or information corresponding to the type of the information to be written into the at least one electronic tag;

[0220] The deletion of at least some information in the at least one electronic tag includes: deleting the information to be deleted and / or the information corresponding to the type of the information to be deleted in the at least one electronic tag;

[0221] The modification of at least some information in the at least one electronic tag includes: deleting the information to be modified and / or the information corresponding to the type of the information to be modified in the at least one electronic tag, and writing the modified information and / or the information corresponding to the type of the modified information into the at least one electronic tag.

[0222] In some embodiments, the method further includes: the third network element receiving a response message sent by a first network element serving the terminal device; wherein the response message includes identification information of the at least one electronic tag and / or at least one of the following: indication information indicating success or failure of writing information into the at least one electronic tag, indication information indicating success or failure of deleting at least some information in the at least one electronic tag, indication information indicating success or failure of modifying at least some information in the at least one electronic tag; the third network element sending the response message to the AF entity.

[0223] The third network element receiving the response message sent by the first network element serving the terminal device may be performed after the third network element sends the operation request and / or the identification information of the at least one electronic tag to the second network element, or it may be performed after the third network element sends the terminal device identifier associated with the identification information of the at least one electronic tag, as well as the operation request and / or the identification information of the at least one electronic tag, to the first network element serving the terminal device.

[0224] In some embodiments, before the third network element receives the operation request for at least one electronic tag and / or the identification information of the at least one electronic tag sent by the application function (AF) entity, it further includes:

[0225] The third network element receives the terminal device identifier and the identification information of one or more electronic tags associated with the terminal device sent by the first network element serving the terminal device;

[0226] The third network element stores the terminal device identifier and the identification information of one or more electronic tags associated with the terminal device.

[0227] In some embodiments, the identification information includes the Electronic Product Code (EPC).

[0228] Figure 7 A flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in another embodiment of this application is shown below. Figure 7 As shown, the method includes:

[0229] S701. The terminal device obtains identification information from one or more electronic tags.

[0230] Optionally, the terminal device can obtain the identification information of each of one or more electronic tags. Optionally, the identification information of the electronic tag may include the EPC of the electronic tag.

[0231] Optionally, in some embodiments, the terminal device may add a reader / writer function for the electronic tag. For example, if the electronic tag is an RFID tag, the terminal device may obtain the identification information of the electronic tag through RFID technology. Or, if the electronic tag is a Passive IoT tag or an Ambient IoT tag, the terminal device may obtain the identification information of the electronic tag through the technology defined by Passive IoT or Ambient IoT.

[0232] Optionally, in other embodiments, the terminal device wirelessly communicates with one or more electronic tag readers. The electronic tag readers obtain the identification information of the electronic tags using RFID technology, Passive IoT, or Ambient IoT-defined technologies, and then send it to the terminal device. The interaction between the electronic tag readers and the terminal device can, for example, be accomplished through application-layer data interaction.

[0233] S702. The terminal device sends the identification information of one or more electronic tags obtained to the first network element located in the core network that serves the terminal device.

[0234] Optionally, the first network element is, for example, the AMF or SMF in the 5G network. For example, the terminal device sends the identification information of the electronic tag to the AMF through mobility management messages or to the SMF through session management messages.

[0235] S703. The first network element can determine the terminal device identifier according to the mobility management process or the session management process. The first network element sends the terminal device identifier and the identification information of one or more electronic tags to the second network element / third network element located in the core network.

[0236] Optionally, the second / third network element may be a network element such as UDM, UDR, NRF, or UDSF in a 5G network, or it may be a network element specifically set up for managing electronic tags.

[0237] S704, the second network element / third network element stores the association between the terminal device identifier and the identifier information of one or more corresponding electronic tags.

[0238] Optionally, the one or more electronic tags corresponding to the terminal device identifier may be one or more electronic tags capable of communicating with the terminal device.

[0239] In this embodiment, the core network of the mobile network stores the association between the terminal device identifier and the identification information of one or more electronic tags.

[0240] Figure 8 A flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in another embodiment of this application is shown below. Figure 8 As shown, Figure 8 The corresponding implementation may be in Figure 7 It is implemented based on the corresponding implementation. Figure 8 In a corresponding embodiment, the Application Function (AF) entity can request information about the electronic tag from the core network (corresponding to the relevant information of the electronic tag in the above embodiment). The method includes:

[0241] S801, The application function AF entity sends an instruction to a third network element located in the core network to obtain information about electronic tags and (at least one) identification information of electronic tags.

[0242] Optionally, in other embodiments, the instruction to obtain information of the electronic tag and (at least one) identification information of the electronic tag may be replaced by the instruction to obtain information of the electronic tag or (at least one) identification information of the electronic tag.

[0243] Optionally, the information of the electronic tag and / or (at least one) the identification information of the electronic tag are used to request information about the electronic tag.

[0244] Optionally, in any embodiment of this application, the information of the electronic tag can be understood in the same way as the related information of the electronic tag.

[0245] Optionally, in any embodiment of this application, the identification information of the electronic tag can be replaced with the electronic tag identifier.

[0246] Optionally, the instruction to obtain information from the electronic tag can be an instruction parameter carried in the request message or can be indicated through the message name. Optionally, the instruction to obtain information from the electronic tag can also indicate obtaining a specific type of information, such as at least one of the following: reading information stored in the electronic tag (partial or all of the information, some of which may include information of a preset type), the electronic tag's status information, obtaining the electronic tag's location information, etc. Optionally, the third network element is, for example, the NEF in a 5G system, or a network element specifically set up for managing electronic tags.

[0247] In some embodiments, after S801, S802a, S802b-S802c, or S802d-S802f may be executed.

[0248] S802a The third network element determines the terminal device identifier corresponding to the electronic tag and sends the instruction to obtain the electronic tag information, the electronic tag identifier information, and the terminal device identifier to the first network element serving the terminal device.

[0249] S802b: The third network element sends the instruction to obtain information from the electronic tag and the identification information of the electronic tag to the second network element.

[0250] S802c, the second network element determines the terminal device associated with the electronic tag, and sends the instruction to obtain information from the electronic tag, the identification information of the electronic tag, and the identification of the terminal device to the first network element serving the terminal device.

[0251] Optionally, the second network element may also send third network element information to the first network element. Optionally, the third network element information may include at least one of the following: the identifier of the third network element, an instruction from the third network element to send information to acquire the electronic tag, and the time of the electronic tag's identification information, etc.

[0252] S802d: The third network element sends the identification information of the electronic tag to the second network element and queries the second network element for the identification of the terminal device associated with the electronic tag.

[0253] S802e: The third network element obtains the terminal device identifier associated with the electronic tag from the second network element.

[0254] S802f, the third network element sends the instruction to acquire information from the electronic tag, the identification information of the electronic tag, and the identification of the terminal device to the first network element serving the terminal device.

[0255] Thus, through S802a, or through S802b-S802c, or through S802d-S802f, the first network element can obtain the terminal device identifier, the electronic tag identification information, and the instruction to obtain the electronic tag information. Then, S803 can be executed.

[0256] S803, the first network element serves the terminal device associated with the electronic tag, and the first network element sends the instruction to obtain the information of the electronic tag and the identification information of the electronic tag to the terminal device.

[0257] Optionally, the terminal device associated with the electronic tag can also be referred to as the terminal device corresponding to the terminal device identifier.

[0258] S804. The terminal device obtains the information of the electronic tag.

[0259] Optionally, the information of the electronic tag may include at least one of the following: the electronic tag's identifier, location, status information, and a timestamp indicating that the information was obtained. Optionally, the information of the electronic tag may be read from the electronic tag, and / or added by the terminal device, and / or generated by the terminal device after calculation and analysis. For example, information related to the electronic tag added by the terminal device, such as the timestamp indicating that the information of the electronic tag was obtained. For example, the location information of the electronic tag generated by the terminal device after calculation and analysis. The location information of the electronic tag may include: the location information of the electronic tag relative to the terminal device, and / or, the absolute location information of the electronic tag.

[0260] Optionally, the terminal device can be equipped with an electronic tag reader / writer function to acquire information from the electronic tag through RFID technology, Passive IoT, or Ambient IoT. The terminal device can also read information from multiple electronic tags in batches and filter out the information of the electronic tag. The terminal device can also filter out specific types of information from the electronic tag according to the instructions for acquiring information from the electronic tag, such as instructions for acquiring specific types of information.

[0261] Optionally, the terminal device can wirelessly communicate with one or more electronic tag readers. The electronic tag readers obtain information from the electronic tags using RFID technology, Passive IoT, or Ambient IoT-defined technologies, and then send this information to the terminal device. The interaction between the electronic tag readers and the terminal device can, for example, be accomplished through application-layer data exchange. The electronic tag readers can determine the location of the electronic tag based on the wireless signal information exchanged with the electronic tag, or they can send the wireless signal information exchanged with the electronic tag to the terminal device. The terminal device can then determine the location information of the electronic tag based on the wireless signal information or location information obtained from multiple electronic tag readers.

[0262] Optionally, S805-S807 can also be executed after S804.

[0263] S805. The terminal device sends the information of the electronic tag to the first network element, or the terminal device sends the information of the electronic tag and the corresponding identification information of the electronic tag to the first network element.

[0264] S806. The first network element sends the information of the electronic tag to the third network element, or the first network element sends the information of the electronic tag and the corresponding identification information of the electronic tag to the third network element.

[0265] S807, the third network element sends the information of the electronic tag to the AF entity, or the third network element sends the information of the electronic tag and the corresponding identification information of the electronic tag to the AF entity.

[0266] Optionally, the third network element can further process the information of the electronic tag before sending it to the AF entity. For example, if the information of the electronic tag is the location information of the electronic tag relative to the terminal device, the third network element can obtain the location information of the terminal device based on the positioning technology in the mobile network, and then determine the global location information of the electronic tag (also known as the absolute location information of the electronic tag) based on the location information of the electronic tag relative to the terminal device and the location information of the terminal device, and then send it to the AF entity.

[0267] Figure 9 A flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in another embodiment of this application is shown below. Figure 9 As shown, Figure 9 The corresponding implementation may be in Figure 7 It is implemented based on the corresponding implementation. Figure 9 In a corresponding embodiment, the Application Function (AF) entity can request information about the electronic tag from the core network (corresponding to the relevant information of the electronic tag in the above embodiment). The method includes:

[0268] S901. The application function AF entity sends (at least one) identification information and writing information of an electronic tag to a third network element located in the core network, requesting that the information be written to the electronic tag.

[0269] Alternatively, the third network element may be, for example, the NEF in a 5G system, or a network element specifically designed for managing electronic tags.

[0270] Optionally, in other embodiments, the identification information and the information to be written of the electronic tag can be replaced with the identification information or the information to be written of the electronic tag.

[0271] In some embodiments, after S901, S902a, or S902b-S902c, or S902d-S902f can be executed.

[0272] S902a, the third network element determines the terminal device identifier corresponding to the electronic tag, and sends the electronic tag's identifier information, the terminal device identifier, and the information to be written to the first network element serving the terminal device.

[0273] S902b: The third network element sends the identification information and the information to be written of the electronic tag to the second network element.

[0274] S902c, the second network element determines the terminal device associated with the electronic tag, and the second network element sends the identification information of the electronic tag, the information to be written, and the terminal device identification to the first network element serving the terminal device.

[0275] S902d: The third network element sends the identification information of the electronic tag to the second network element and queries the second network element for the terminal device associated with the electronic tag.

[0276] S902e: The third network element obtains the terminal device identifier associated with the electronic tag from the second network element.

[0277] S902f, the third network element sends the electronic tag's identification information, the information to be written, and the terminal device's identifier to the first network element serving the terminal device.

[0278] S903, the first network element sends the identification information and the information to be written of the electronic tag to the terminal device.

[0279] S904. The terminal device writes the information to be written to the electronic tag.

[0280] Optionally, the terminal device can be equipped with an electronic tag reader / writer function to write information to the electronic tag using RFID technology, or technologies defined by Passive IoT or Ambient IoT. Optionally, the terminal device can also wirelessly communicate with one or more electronic tag readers / writers, sending the electronic tag's identification information and the information to be written to the electronic tag reader / writer through application-layer data interaction. The electronic tag reader / writer then writes information to the electronic tag using RFID technology, or technologies defined by Passive IoT or Ambient IoT.

[0281] Optionally, S905-S907 can also be executed after S904.

[0282] S905: The terminal device sends a successful write response to the first network element, optionally carrying the identification information of the corresponding electronic tag.

[0283] S906: The first network element sends a successful write response to the third network element, optionally carrying the identification information of the corresponding electronic tag.

[0284] S907 and the third network element will send a successful write response to the AF, optionally carrying the identification information of the corresponding electronic tag.

[0285] This application's embodiments solve the problem of local item management and communication, where reading, writing, and positioning of electronic tags are limited to about 100 meters. It enables remote reading, writing, or positioning of electronic tags, thus expanding the application scenarios of electronic tags.

[0286] Figure 10 A flowchart illustrating another communication method provided in another embodiment of this application is shown below. Figure 10 As shown, the method includes:

[0287] S1001. The access network device obtains identification information from one or more electronic tags.

[0288] Optionally, the access network device may obtain the identification information of each of one or more electronic tags.

[0289] Optionally, in some embodiments, the access network device may add a reader / writer function for the electronic tag. For example, if the electronic tag is an RFID tag, the access network device obtains the identification information of the electronic tag through RFID technology. Or, if the electronic tag is a Passive IoT tag or an Ambient IoT tag, the access network device obtains the identification information of the electronic tag through the technology defined by Passive IoT or Ambient IoT.

[0290] Optionally, in other embodiments, the access network device wirelessly communicates with one or more electronic tag readers. The electronic tag readers obtain the identification information of the electronic tags using RFID technology, Passive IoT, or Ambient IoT-defined technologies, and then send it to the access network device. The interaction between the electronic tag readers and the access network device can, for example, be accomplished through application-layer data interaction.

[0291] S1002. The access network device sends the access network device identifier and the identification information of one or more electronic tags to the second / third network element located in the core network.

[0292] S1003, the second network element / third network element stores the association between the access network device identifier and the identifier information of one or more corresponding electronic tags.

[0293] Optionally, one or more electronic tags corresponding to the access network device identifier may be one or more electronic tags capable of communicating with the access network device.

[0294] In this embodiment, the core network of the mobile network stores the association between the access network device identifier and the identification information of one or more electronic tags.

[0295] Figure 11 A flowchart illustrating yet another communication method provided in another embodiment of this application is shown below. Figure 11 As shown, Figure 11 The corresponding implementation may be in Figure 10 It is implemented based on the corresponding implementation. Figure 11In a corresponding embodiment, the Application Function (AF) entity can request information about the electronic tag from the core network (corresponding to the relevant information of the electronic tag in the above embodiment). The method includes:

[0296] S1101. The application function AF entity sends an instruction to a third network element located in the core network to obtain information about electronic tags and (at least one) identification information of electronic tags.

[0297] In some embodiments, after S1101, S1102a may be executed, or S1102b-S1102c may be executed, or S1102d-S1102f may be executed.

[0298] S1102a The third network element determines the access network device identifier corresponding to the electronic tag and sends the instruction to obtain the information of the electronic tag and the identification information of the electronic tag to the access network device corresponding to the access network device identifier.

[0299] S1102b: The third network element sends the instruction to obtain information from the electronic tag and the identification information of the electronic tag to the second network element.

[0300] S1102c, the second network element determines the access network device identifier associated with the electronic tag, and the second network element sends the instruction to obtain the information of the electronic tag and the identification information of the electronic tag to the access network device corresponding to the access network device identifier.

[0301] Optionally, the second network element may also send third network element information to the first network element. Optionally, the third network element information may include at least one of the following: the identifier of the third network element, an instruction from the third network element to send information to acquire the electronic tag, and the time of the electronic tag's identification information, etc.

[0302] S1102d: The third network element sends the identification information of the electronic tag to the second network element and queries the second network element for the identification of the access network device associated with the electronic tag.

[0303] S1102e, the third network element obtains the access network device identifier associated with the electronic tag from the second network element.

[0304] S1102f, the third network element will send the instruction to obtain the information of the electronic tag and the identification information of the electronic tag to the access network device corresponding to the access network device.

[0305] Thus, through S1102a, or through S1102b-S1102c, or through S1102d-S1102f, the access network device can obtain the identification information of the electronic tag and the instruction to acquire the electronic tag information. Then, S1103 can be executed.

[0306] S1103, The access network device obtains the information of the electronic tag.

[0307] Optionally, S1104-S1105 can also be executed after S1103.

[0308] S1104. The access network device sends the information of the electronic tag to the third network element, or the terminal device sends the information of the electronic tag and the corresponding identification information of the electronic tag to the third network element.

[0309] S1105. The third network element sends the information of the electronic tag to the AF entity, or the third network element sends the information of the electronic tag and the corresponding identification information of the electronic tag to the AF entity.

[0310] Figure 12 A flowchart illustrating another communication method provided in another embodiment of this application is shown below. Figure 12 As shown, Figure 12 The corresponding implementation may be in Figure 10 It is implemented based on the corresponding implementation. Figure 12 In a corresponding embodiment, the Application Function (AF) entity can request information about the electronic tag from the core network (corresponding to the relevant information of the electronic tag in the above embodiment). The method includes:

[0311] S1201. The application function AF entity sends (at least one) electronic tag identification information and information to be written to a third network element located in the core network.

[0312] In some embodiments, after S1201, S1202a may be executed, or S1202b-S1202c may be executed, or S1202d-S1202f may be executed.

[0313] S1202a The third network element determines the access network device identifier corresponding to the electronic tag and sends the electronic tag's identifier information and the information to be written to the access network device corresponding to the access network device identifier.

[0314] S1202b: The third network element sends the identification information and the information to be written of the electronic tag to the second network element.

[0315] S1202c, the second network element determines the access network device identifier associated with the electronic tag, and the second network element sends the electronic tag's identifier information and the information to be written to the access network device corresponding to the access network device identifier.

[0316] Optionally, the second network element may also send the third network element information to the first network element. Optionally, the third network element information may include at least one of the following: the identifier of the third network element, the time when the third network element sends the information to be written and the identification information of the electronic tag, etc.

[0317] S1202d: The third network element sends the identification information of the electronic tag to the second network element and queries the second network element for the identification of the access network device associated with the electronic tag.

[0318] S1202e, the third network element obtains the access network device identifier associated with the electronic tag from the second network element.

[0319] S1202f and the third network element send the identification information and the information to be written of the electronic tag to the access network device corresponding to the access network device identifier.

[0320] Thus, through S1202a, or through S1202b-S1202c, or through S1202d-S1202f, the access network device can obtain the identification information and the information to be written from the electronic tag. Then, S1203 can be executed.

[0321] S1203. The access network device writes the information to be written to the electronic tag.

[0322] Optionally, S1204-S1205 can also be executed after S1203.

[0323] S1204. The access network device will send a successful write response to the third network element, optionally carrying the identification information of the corresponding electronic tag.

[0324] S1205, the third network element will send a successful write response to the AF, optionally carrying the identification information of the corresponding electronic tag.

[0325] Alternatively, in other embodiments, Figure 9 and Figure 12 In the corresponding embodiment, the information to be written can be replaced by at least one of the following: information to be written, information to be deleted, information to be modified, modified information, type of information to be written, type of information to be deleted, type of information to be modified, and type of modified information.

[0326] The preferred embodiments of this application have been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, this application is not limited to the specific details of the above embodiments. Within the scope of the technical concept of this application, various simple modifications can be made to the technical solutions of this application, and these simple modifications all fall within the protection scope of this application. For example, the various specific technical features described in the above specific embodiments can be combined in any suitable manner without contradiction. To avoid unnecessary repetition, this application will not describe the various possible combinations separately. Furthermore, various different embodiments of this application can also be arbitrarily combined, as long as they do not violate the spirit of this application, they should also be considered as the content disclosed in this application. Moreover, without conflict, the various embodiments and / or the technical features in the various embodiments described in this application can be arbitrarily combined with the prior art, and the resulting technical solutions should also fall within the protection scope of this application.

[0327] It should also be understood that in the various method embodiments of this application, the sequence number of each process does not imply 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 this application. Furthermore, in the embodiments of this application, the terms "downlink," "uplink," and "sidelink" are used to indicate the transmission direction of signals or data. "Downlink" indicates that the transmission direction of signals or data is a first direction from the site to the user equipment in the cell; "uplink" indicates that the transmission direction of signals or data is a second direction from the user equipment in the cell to the site; and "sidelink" indicates that the transmission direction of signals or data is a third direction from user equipment 1 to user equipment 2. For example, "downlink signal" indicates that the transmission direction of the signal is the first direction. Additionally, in the embodiments of this application, the term "and / or" is merely a description of the association relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. Specifically, A and / or B can represent: A existing alone, A and B existing simultaneously, and B existing alone. Furthermore, the character " / " in this document generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects have an "or" relationship.

[0328] Figure 13 This is a schematic diagram of the structural composition of the communication device provided in the embodiments of this application, which is applied to terminal devices, such as... Figure 13 As shown, the communication device 1300 includes:

[0329] The communication unit 1301 is used to receive an operation request for at least one electronic tag and / or the identification information of the at least one electronic tag sent by the first network element;

[0330] The execution unit 1302 is used to perform the operation on at least one electronic tag.

[0331] In some embodiments, the operation request is used to request relevant information about the at least one electronic tag;

[0332] The execution unit 1302 is also configured to: obtain relevant information about the at least one electronic tag.

[0333] In some embodiments, the communication unit 1301 is further configured to send relevant information of the at least one electronic tag to the first network element.

[0334] In some embodiments, the execution unit 1302 is further configured to: obtain relevant information of one or more electronic tags; and determine relevant information of at least one electronic tag from the relevant information of the one or more electronic tags.

[0335] In some embodiments, the relevant information includes at least one of the following: identification information, location information, status information, timestamp information added by the terminal device, stored information, and information determined based on the stored information.

[0336] In some embodiments, the location information includes at least one of the following: absolute location information, relative location information relative to the terminal device, and location information of the area.

[0337] In some embodiments, the operation request is used to request at least one of the following: writing information into the at least one electronic tag, deleting at least a portion of the information in the at least one electronic tag, or modifying at least a portion of the information in the at least one electronic tag;

[0338] Execution unit 1302 is also used for at least one of the following:

[0339] The terminal device writes information into the at least one electronic tag;

[0340] The terminal device deletes at least some information from the at least one electronic tag;

[0341] The terminal device modifies at least some of the information in the at least one electronic tag.

[0342] In some embodiments, the operation request includes at least one of the following: information to be written, information to be deleted, information to be modified, modified information, the type of information to be written, the type of information to be deleted, the type of information to be modified, and the type of modified information;

[0343] Execution unit 1302 is also used for at least one of the following:

[0344] Write the information to be written and / or information corresponding to the type of the information to be written into the at least one electronic tag;

[0345] Delete the information to be deleted and / or the information corresponding to the type of the information to be deleted from the at least one electronic tag;

[0346] The information to be modified and / or the information corresponding to the type of the information to be modified in the at least one electronic tag is deleted, and the modified information and / or the information corresponding to the type of the modified information is written into the at least one electronic tag.

[0347] In some embodiments, the communication unit 1301 is further configured to: send a response message to the first network element; wherein the response message includes identification information of the at least one electronic tag and / or at least one of the following: indication information indicating success or failure of writing information into the at least one electronic tag, indication information indicating success or failure of deleting at least some information in the at least one electronic tag, and indication information indicating success or failure of modifying at least some information in the at least one electronic tag.

[0348] In some embodiments, the execution unit 1302 is further configured to: obtain identification information of one or more electronic tags; the communication unit 1301 is further configured to: send the identification information of the one or more electronic tags to the first network element.

[0349] In some embodiments, the identification information includes the Electronic Product Code (EPC).

[0350] Figure 14 This is a schematic diagram of the structural composition of another communication device provided in an embodiment of this application, applied to a first network element, such as... Figure 14 As shown, the communication device 1400 includes: a communication unit 1401, used for:

[0351] Receive terminal device identifiers sent by a second network element or a third network element, as well as operation requests for at least one electronic tag and / or identification information of the at least one electronic tag;

[0352] Send the operation request and / or the identification information of the at least one electronic tag to the terminal device corresponding to the terminal device identifier.

[0353] In some embodiments, the communication device 1400 includes: a determining unit, configured to determine the terminal device corresponding to the terminal device identifier.

[0354] In some embodiments, the operation request is used to request relevant information about the at least one electronic tag.

[0355] In some embodiments, the communication unit 1401 is further configured to:

[0356] Receive relevant information of the at least one electronic tag sent by the terminal device;

[0357] Send relevant information about the at least one electronic tag to the second network element or the third network element.

[0358] In some embodiments, the relevant information includes at least one of the following: identification information, location information, status information, timestamp information added by the terminal device, stored information, and information determined based on the stored information.

[0359] In some embodiments, the location information includes at least one of the following: absolute location information, relative location information relative to the terminal device, and location information of the area.

[0360] In some embodiments, the operation request is used to request at least one of the following: writing information into the at least one electronic tag, deleting at least a portion of the information in the at least one electronic tag, or modifying at least a portion of the information in the at least one electronic tag.

[0361] In some embodiments, the operation request includes at least one of the following: information to be written, information to be deleted, information to be modified, modified information, the type of information to be written, the type of information to be deleted, the type of information to be modified, and the type of modified information;

[0362] The step of writing information into the at least one electronic tag includes: writing the information to be written and / or information corresponding to the type of the information to be written into the at least one electronic tag;

[0363] The deletion of at least some information in the at least one electronic tag includes: deleting the information to be deleted and / or the information corresponding to the type of the information to be deleted in the at least one electronic tag;

[0364] The modification of at least some information in the at least one electronic tag includes: deleting the information to be modified and / or the information corresponding to the type of the information to be modified in the at least one electronic tag, and writing the modified information and / or the information corresponding to the type of the modified information into the at least one electronic tag.

[0365] In some embodiments, the communication unit 1401 is further configured to:

[0366] The terminal device receives a response message; wherein the response message includes identification information of the at least one electronic tag and / or at least one of the following: an indication of success or failure in writing information into the at least one electronic tag, an indication of success or failure in deleting at least some information in the at least one electronic tag, or an indication of success or failure in modifying at least some information in the at least one electronic tag.

[0367] The response message is sent to the second network element or the third network element.

[0368] In some embodiments, the communication unit 1401 is further configured to:

[0369] Receive identification information of one or more electronic tags sent by the terminal device;

[0370] Send the terminal device identifier and the identification information of one or more electronic tags associated with the terminal device to the second network element or the third network element.

[0371] In some embodiments, the identification information includes the Electronic Product Code (EPC).

[0372] Figure 15 This is a schematic diagram of the structural composition of another communication device provided in an embodiment of this application, applied to a second network element, such as... Figure 15 As shown, the communication device 1500 includes:

[0373] The communication unit 1501 is used to receive an operation request for at least one electronic tag and / or the identification information of the at least one electronic tag sent by a third network element;

[0374] The determining unit 1502 is used to determine the terminal device associated with the at least one electronic tag.

[0375] In some embodiments, the communication unit 1501 is further configured to: send a terminal device identifier associated with the identification information of the at least one electronic tag, as well as the operation request and / or the identification information of the at least one electronic tag, to a first network element serving the terminal device.

[0376] In some embodiments, the communication unit 1501 is further configured to: send a terminal device identifier associated with the identification information of the at least one electronic tag to the third network element.

[0377] In some embodiments, the operation request is used to request relevant information about the at least one electronic tag.

[0378] In some embodiments, the relevant information includes at least one of the following: identification information, location information, status information, timestamp information added by the terminal device, stored information, and information determined based on the stored information.

[0379] In some embodiments, the location information includes at least one of the following: absolute location information, relative location information relative to the terminal device, and location information of the area.

[0380] In some embodiments, the operation request is used to request at least one of the following: writing information into the at least one electronic tag, deleting at least a portion of the information in the at least one electronic tag, or modifying at least a portion of the information in the at least one electronic tag.

[0381] In some embodiments, the operation request includes at least one of the following: information to be written, information to be deleted, information to be modified, modified information, the type of information to be written, the type of information to be deleted, the type of information to be modified, and the type of modified information;

[0382] The step of writing information into the at least one electronic tag includes: writing the information to be written and / or information corresponding to the type of the information to be written into the at least one electronic tag;

[0383] The deletion of at least some information in the at least one electronic tag includes: deleting the information to be deleted and / or the information corresponding to the type of the information to be deleted in the at least one electronic tag;

[0384] The modification of at least some information in the at least one electronic tag includes: deleting the information to be modified and / or the information corresponding to the type of the information to be modified in the at least one electronic tag, and writing the modified information and / or the information corresponding to the type of the modified information into the at least one electronic tag.

[0385] In some embodiments, the communication unit 1501 is further configured to: receive the terminal device identifier and identification information of one or more electronic tags associated with the terminal device sent by a first network element serving the terminal device;

[0386] The communication device 1500 further includes a storage unit for storing the terminal device identifier and identification information of one or more electronic tags associated with the terminal device.

[0387] In some embodiments, the identification information includes the Electronic Product Code (EPC).

[0388] Figure 16 This is a schematic diagram of the structural composition of another communication device provided in an embodiment of this application, applied to a third network element, such as... Figure 16 As shown, the communication device 1600 includes:

[0389] The communication unit 1601 is used to receive an operation request for at least one electronic tag and / or the identification information of the at least one electronic tag sent by the application function AF entity;

[0390] The communication unit 1601 is further configured to send the operation request and / or the identification information of the at least one electronic tag to the second network element; or, the communication device may further include a determining unit 1602, which is configured to determine the terminal device associated with the at least one electronic tag.

[0391] In some embodiments, the communication unit 1601 is further configured to: send a terminal device identifier associated with the identification information of the at least one electronic tag, as well as the operation request and / or the identification information of the at least one electronic tag, to a first network element serving the terminal device.

[0392] In some embodiments, the determining unit 1602 is further configured to: determine the terminal device identifier based on the stored terminal device identifier and the identification information of one or more electronic tags associated with the terminal device.

[0393] In some embodiments, the communication unit 1601 is further configured to: send the identification information of the at least one electronic tag to the second network element, and receive the terminal device identifier sent by the second network element.

[0394] In some embodiments, the operation request is used to request relevant information about the at least one electronic tag.

[0395] In some embodiments, the communication unit 1601 is further configured to: receive relevant information of the at least one electronic tag sent by a first network element serving the terminal device; and send the relevant information of the at least one electronic tag to the AF entity; or, the determining unit 1602 is further configured to: process the relevant information of the at least one electronic tag to obtain target information, and the communication unit 1601 is further configured to: send the target information to the AF entity.

[0396] In some embodiments, the relevant information of the at least one electronic tag includes: the relative position information of the at least one electronic tag relative to the terminal device; the target information includes: the absolute position information of the at least one electronic tag;

[0397] The determining unit 1602 is further configured to: determine the absolute position information of the at least one electronic tag based on the relative position information of the at least one electronic tag relative to the terminal device and the absolute position information of the terminal device.

[0398] In some embodiments, the relevant information includes at least one of the following: identification information, location information, status information, timestamp information added by the terminal device, stored information, and information determined based on the stored information.

[0399] In some embodiments, the location information includes at least one of the following: absolute location information, relative location information relative to the terminal device, and location information of the area.

[0400] In some embodiments, the operation request is used to request at least one of the following: writing information into the at least one electronic tag, deleting at least a portion of the information in the at least one electronic tag, or modifying at least a portion of the information in the at least one electronic tag.

[0401] In some embodiments, the operation request includes at least one of the following: information to be written, information to be deleted, information to be modified, modified information, the type of information to be written, the type of information to be deleted, the type of information to be modified, and the type of modified information;

[0402] The step of writing information into the at least one electronic tag includes: writing the information to be written and / or information corresponding to the type of the information to be written into the at least one electronic tag;

[0403] The deletion of at least some information in the at least one electronic tag includes: deleting the information to be deleted and / or the information corresponding to the type of the information to be deleted in the at least one electronic tag;

[0404] The modification of at least some information in the at least one electronic tag includes: deleting the information to be modified and / or the information corresponding to the type of the information to be modified in the at least one electronic tag, and writing the modified information and / or the information corresponding to the type of the modified information into the at least one electronic tag.

[0405] In some embodiments, the communication unit 1601 is further configured to: receive a response message sent by a first network element serving the terminal device; wherein the response message includes identification information of the at least one electronic tag and / or at least one of the following: indication information indicating success or failure of writing information into the at least one electronic tag, indication information indicating success or failure of deleting at least some information in the at least one electronic tag, indication information indicating success or failure of modifying at least some information in the at least one electronic tag; and send the response message to the AF entity.

[0406] In some embodiments, the communication unit 1601 is further configured to: receive a terminal device identifier and identification information of one or more electronic tags associated with the terminal device sent by a first network element serving the terminal device;

[0407] The communication device 1600 further includes a storage unit for storing the terminal device identifier and identification information of one or more electronic tags associated with the terminal device.

[0408] In some embodiments, the identification information includes the Electronic Product Code (EPC).

[0409] Those skilled in the art should understand that the description of the communication device in the embodiments of this application can be understood with reference to the description of the communication method in the embodiments of this application.

[0410] Figure 17 The present application provides a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 1700, which may include one of the following: a terminal device, a first network element, a second network element, or a third network element. Figure 17 The communication device 1700 shown may include a processor 1710 and a memory 1720, the memory 1720 storing a computer program that can run on the processor 1710, the processor 1710 executing the program to implement the communication method in any of the above embodiments.

[0411] Alternatively, the memory 1720 may be a separate device independent of the processor 1710, or it may be integrated into the processor 1710.

[0412] In some embodiments, such as Figure 17 As shown, the communication device 1700 may also include a transceiver 1730, and the processor 1710 may control the transceiver 1730 to communicate with other devices. Specifically, it may send information or data to other devices or receive information or data sent by other devices.

[0413] The transceiver 1730 may include a transmitter and a receiver. The transceiver 1730 may further include an antenna, and the number of antennas may be one or more.

[0414] This application also provides a computer storage medium that stores one or more programs, which can be executed by one or more processors to implement the communication method in any embodiment of this application.

[0415] In some embodiments, the computer-readable storage medium can be applied to the terminal device, the first network element, the second network element, or the third network element in the embodiments of this application, and the computer program causes the computer to execute the corresponding processes implemented by the terminal device, the first network element, the second network element, or the third network element in the various methods of the embodiments of this application. For the sake of brevity, these will not be described in detail here.

[0416] Figure 18 This is a schematic structural diagram of the chip according to an embodiment of this application. Figure 18 The chip 1800 shown includes a processor 1810, which is used to call and run a computer program from memory to implement the method in any embodiment of this application.

[0417] In some embodiments, such as Figure 18 As shown, chip 1800 may further include memory 1820. Processor 1810 can retrieve and run computer programs from memory 1820 to implement the methods described in this embodiment.

[0418] The memory 1820 can be a separate device independent of the processor 1810, or it can be integrated into the processor 1810.

[0419] In some embodiments, the chip 1800 may further include an input interface 1830. The processor 1810 can control the input interface 1830 to communicate with other devices or chips; specifically, it can acquire information or data sent by other devices or chips.

[0420] In some embodiments, the chip 1800 may further include an output interface 1840. The processor 1810 can control the output interface 1840 to communicate with other devices or chips, specifically, to output information or data to other devices or chips.

[0421] In some embodiments, the chip can be applied to the terminal device, the first network element, the second network element, or the third network element in the embodiments of this application, and the chip can implement the corresponding processes implemented by the terminal device, the first network element, the second network element, or the third network element in the various methods of the embodiments of this application. For the sake of brevity, it will not be described in detail here.

[0422] It should be understood that the chip mentioned in the embodiments of this application may also be referred to as a system-on-a-chip, system chip, chip system, or system-on-a-chip, etc.

[0423] This application also provides a computer program product, which includes a computer storage medium storing a computer program. The computer program includes instructions executable by at least one processor, which, when executed by the at least one processor, implement the communication method in any embodiment of this application.

[0424] In some embodiments, the computer program product can be applied to the terminal device, the first network element, the second network element, or the third network element in the embodiments of this application, and the computer program instructions cause the computer to execute the corresponding processes implemented by the terminal device, the first network element, the second network element, or the third network element in the various methods of the embodiments of this application. For the sake of brevity, these will not be described in detail here.

[0425] Alternatively, the computer program product in the embodiments of this application may also be referred to as a software product in other embodiments.

[0426] This application also provides a computer program that causes a computer to execute the communication method in any embodiment of this application.

[0427] In some embodiments, the computer program can be applied to the terminal device, the first network element, the second network element, or the third network element in the embodiments of this application. When the computer program is run on a computer, it causes the computer to execute the corresponding processes implemented by the terminal device, the first network element, the second network element, or the third network element in the various methods of the embodiments of this application. For the sake of brevity, these will not be described in detail here.

[0428] The processor, communication device, or chip in the embodiments of this application may be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. During implementation, each step of the above method embodiments can be completed by integrated logic circuits in the processor hardware or by instructions in software form. The processor, communication device, or chip described above may include any one or more of the following integrations: general-purpose processor, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), digital signal processor (DSP), digital signal processing device (DSPD), programmable logic device (PLD), field-programmable gate array (FPGA), central processing unit (CPU), graphics processing unit (GPU), embedded neural network processing unit (NPU), controller, microcontroller, microprocessor, programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, discrete hardware component. It can implement or execute the methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of this application. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc. The steps of the method disclosed in the embodiments of this application can be directly manifested as being executed by a hardware decoding processor, or executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software modules can reside in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, or other mature storage media in the art. This storage medium is located in memory, and the processor reads information from the memory and, in conjunction with its hardware, completes the steps of the above method.

[0429] It is understood that the memory or computer storage medium in the embodiments of this application can be volatile memory or non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memory. The non-volatile memory can be read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or flash memory. The volatile memory can be random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example, but not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), Synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), Double Data Rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), Enhanced Synchronous DRAM (ESDRAM), Synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), and Direct Rambus RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory used in the systems and methods described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0430] It should be understood that the above-described memory or computer storage medium is exemplary but not limiting. For example, the memory in the embodiments of this 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 memory bus RAM (DR RAM), etc. That is to say, the memory in the embodiments of this application is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0431] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the units and algorithm steps of the various examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0432] Those skilled in the art will understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, the specific working processes of the systems, devices, and units described above can be referred to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0433] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, apparatuses, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces; the indirect coupling or communication connection between apparatuses or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0434] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0435] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit.

[0436] In any embodiment of this application, the time interval, time period, duration range, duration or time window may include all endpoint times, or may include some endpoint times (e.g., including the left endpoint time but not the right endpoint time, or including the right endpoint time but not the left endpoint time), or may not include endpoint times.

[0437] If the aforementioned functions are implemented as software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or a portion of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0438] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, the method comprising: Access network equipment obtains identification information from one or more electronic tags; The access network device sends the access network device identifier and the identification information of the one or more electronic tags to the second network element of the core network.

2. The method according to claim 1, Before the access network device sends the access network device identifier and the identification information of the one or more electronic tags to the second network element of the core network, it further includes: The access network device receives an instruction from the second network element to acquire information about the one or more electronic tags and identification information of the one or more electronic tags.

3. The method according to claim 2, The instruction to obtain information from the one or more electronic tags indicates at least one of the following: reading information stored in the one or more electronic tags, status information of the one or more electronic tags, or obtaining location information of the one or more electronic tags.

4. The method according to claim 3, further comprising: The access network device acquires information from the one or more electronic tags; The access network device sends the information of the one or more electronic tags to the third network element.

5. The method according to claim 2, Before the access network device sends the access network device identifier and the identification information of the one or more electronic tags to the second network element of the core network, it further includes: The access network device receives the identification information and writing information of one or more electronic tags sent by the second network element.

6. The method according to claim 5, The access network device writes the information to be written to the one or more electronic tags.

7. The method according to claim 6, The access network device will send a successful write response to the third network element.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1-7, The one or more electronic tags are Ambient IoT tags.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1-7, The third network element is the Network Open Function (NEF).

10. A communication method, the method comprising: The second network element receives the access network device identifier and identification information of one or more electronic tags sent by the access network device.

11. The method according to claim 10, The second network element stores the association between the access network device identifier and the identifier information of the one or more electronic tags.

12. The method according to claim 10, Before the second network element receives the access network device identifier and the identification information of the one or more electronic tags sent by the access network device, it further includes: The second network element sends an instruction to the access network device to obtain information about the one or more electronic tags and the identification information of the one or more electronic tags.

13. The method according to claim 12, The second network element sends an instruction to the access network device to acquire information of the one or more electronic tags and identification information of the one or more electronic tags, including: The second network element determines the identifier of the access network device associated with the one or more electronic tags, and sends an instruction to the access network device to obtain information of the one or more electronic tags and the identification information of the one or more electronic tags.

14. The method according to claim 12, Before the second network element sends an instruction to the access network device to obtain information about the one or more electronic tags and the identification information of the one or more electronic tags, it further includes: The second network element receives an instruction from the third network element to acquire information of the one or more electronic tags and the identification information of the one or more electronic tags.

15. The method according to claim 12, The instruction to obtain information from the one or more electronic tags indicates at least one of the following: reading information stored in the one or more electronic tags, status information of the one or more electronic tags, or obtaining location information of the one or more electronic tags.

16. The method according to claim 10, Before the second network element receives the access network device identifier and the identification information of the one or more electronic tags sent by the access network device, it further includes: The second network element sends the identification information and writing information of the one or more electronic tags to the access network device.

17. The method according to claim 16, The second network element sends the identification information of the one or more electronic tags and the information to be written to the access network device, including: The second network element determines the identifier of the access network device associated with the one or more electronic tags, and the second network element sends the identifier information of the one or more electronic tags and the information to be written to the access network device.

18. The method according to claim 16, Before the second network element sends the identification information of the one or more electronic tags and the information to be written to the access network device, it further includes: The second network element receives the identification information of the one or more electronic tags and the information to be written from the third network element.

19. An access network device, comprising: A communication unit, used to obtain identification information from one or more electronic tags; And send the access network device identifier and the identification information of the one or more electronic tags to the second network element of the core network.

20. A second network element, comprising: The communication unit is used to receive the access network device identifier and identification information of one or more electronic tags sent by the access network device.

21. A communication device, comprising: A processor and a memory, the memory storing a computer program that can run on the processor, the processor executing the program to implement the method of any one of claims 1-9.

22. A communication device, comprising: A processor and a memory, the memory storing a computer program executable on the processor, the processor executing the program to implement the method of any one of claims 10-18.

Images