Downlink communication failure processing method and device and electronic equipment

Abstract

The invention discloses a downlink communication failure processing method and device and electronic equipment, and belongs to the technical field of communication, the method is applied to a control plane network element, and the method comprises the following steps: if signal quality causes downlink communication failure of a first terminal, determining at least one second terminal; and sending the downlink communication failure information of the first terminal to the at least one second terminal to enable the at least one second terminal to send the information to the first terminal, so that when the first terminal cannot be connected with a ground network and the signal of the terminal is weak due to object shielding and the like in a satellite network coverage range, the first terminal cannot be connected with the ground network. And the second terminal sends the downlink communication failure information to the first terminal, so that the first terminal can sense the downlink communication failure in time.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a method, apparatus and electronic device for handling downlink communication failure. Background Technology

[0002] When a terminal is located in a remote area, it may be unable to connect to a terrestrial network and can only communicate via satellite. However, if objects around the terminal (such as buildings, trees, mountains, etc.) obstruct the signal or severe weather (such as heavy rain, blizzards, etc.) can block the satellite signal, resulting in a decrease in signal strength or even no signal. This will affect the communication between the terminal and the satellite. If there are emergency notifications for emergency evacuation or warnings of natural disasters sent from other terminals at this time, the terminal user may not be able to receive them in time, which will seriously threaten the life safety of the terminal user.

[0003] In existing technologies, when downlink communication fails at a target terminal, one approach is to wait until the downlink communication succeeds before sending the data. However, this method has a high latency. Another approach is to communicate directly with other pre-configured terminals, such as through call forwarding, where another terminal answers the call on behalf of the target terminal. However, if the other terminal is close to the target terminal, it is highly unlikely to be able to communicate either. If the other terminal is far away, it will not be able to notify the target terminal in a timely manner. Therefore, existing technologies suffer from the problem of not being able to obtain downlink communication failure information in a timely manner when the terminal cannot connect to a terrestrial network and the signal is weak due to objects obstructing the satellite network coverage area. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application provides a method, apparatus, and electronic device for handling downlink communication failure, which can promptly detect downlink communication failure when a terminal cannot connect to a terrestrial network and the signal is weak due to objects blocking the satellite network coverage area.

[0005] In a first aspect, embodiments of this application provide a method for handling downlink communication failures, applied to control plane network elements, including:

[0006] If signal quality causes downlink communication failure of the first terminal, then at least one second terminal is identified;

[0007] The downlink communication failure information of the first terminal is sent to the at least one second terminal, so that the at least one second terminal sends the information to the first terminal.

[0008] In some embodiments, determining at least one second terminal includes:

[0009] Determine whether the first terminal meets the notification conditions for downlink communication failure;

[0010] If the conditions are met, then at least one second terminal is determined.

[0011] In some embodiments, determining whether the first terminal meets the notification conditions for downlink communication failure includes:

[0012] Based on the first indication information received from other network element devices, it is determined that the first terminal meets the notification conditions for downlink communication failure; or

[0013] Based on the terminal information of the first terminal, it is determined that the first terminal meets the notification conditions for downlink communication failure.

[0014] The terminal information includes some or all of the terminal's subscription information, operator configuration information, terminal capability information, terminal status information, downlink communication information, and demand information.

[0015] In some embodiments, the first terminal is determined to meet the notification condition for downlink communication failure when the terminal-related information of the first terminal meets at least one of the following conditions:

[0016] The terminal's subscription information, operator configuration information, or demand information indicate that if signal quality causes downlink communication failure of the first terminal, a downlink communication failure message is sent to the first terminal.

[0017] The downlink communication information satisfies the triggering condition preset in the subscription information or the operator configuration information for sending downlink communication failure information to the first terminal;

[0018] The terminal capability information indicates that the first terminal supports receiving downlink communication failure information;

[0019] The terminal status information indicates that it is in a receiveable state.

[0020] In some embodiments, determining at least one second terminal includes at least one of the following steps:

[0021] Based on the current location information of the first terminal, at least one second terminal is determined;

[0022] Based on the requests from other terminals as request messages for the second terminal, at least one second terminal is determined, wherein the other terminals are the terminals determined by the first terminal;

[0023] Based on the second information sent by other network element devices, at least one second terminal is determined, wherein the second information carries the second terminal information determined by the other network element devices based on the current location information of the first terminal.

[0024] In some embodiments, there is no third terminal among the at least one second terminal determined, wherein the third terminal is a terminal that cannot be used as a second terminal based on the terminal-related information of the at least one second terminal, and the terminal-related information includes some or all of the terminal's subscription information, terminal capability information, notification status information, and network status information.

[0025] In some embodiments, the third terminal is determined by any of the following methods:

[0026] The terminal's subscription information indicates that it cannot be used as a second terminal;

[0027] The terminal capability information indicates that the notification capability is not supported or that the notification capability of the terminal does not match the terminal capability information of the first terminal.

[0028] The notification status information indicates that the notification function is currently disabled;

[0029] The network status information indicates that the second terminal is unable to receive signaling or data sent by the wireless access network.

[0030] In some embodiments, determining at least one second terminal based on the current location information of the first terminal includes:

[0031] Based on the current location information of the first terminal, the target area of ​​the first terminal is determined;

[0032] Based on the target area and the pre-configured correspondence between different areas and the second terminal, at least one second terminal corresponding to the target area is determined as the second terminal corresponding to the first terminal.

[0033] In some embodiments, determining at least one second terminal based on the current location information of the first terminal includes:

[0034] Based on the current location information of the first terminal, candidate terminals that are no more than a preset distance threshold from the first terminal are selected;

[0035] Based on the distance between the selected candidate terminals and the first terminal, some or all of the candidate terminals are determined as the second terminal corresponding to the first terminal.

[0036] In some embodiments, after determining at least one second terminal, the method further includes:

[0037] A connection establishment request is sent to the at least one second terminal, the connection establishment request including connection assistance information, so that the second terminal receiving the connection establishment request establishes a connection with the first terminal based on the connection assistance information.

[0038] In some embodiments, if there are multiple determined second terminals, then sending a connection establishment request to the at least one second terminal includes:

[0039] Send connection establishment requests to some second terminals;

[0040] Receive the connection results fed back by the second terminal;

[0041] If all the connection results reported by the second terminals are connection failures, then a preset number of second terminals that have not sent connection establishment requests are selected from the determined second terminals to send connection establishment requests.

[0042] If all second terminals report connection failures, a connection request will be sent again after a preset time. When the preset number of failures is met, the current second terminal will be excluded and a new second terminal will be selected.

[0043] Secondly, embodiments of this application provide a method for handling downlink communication failures, applied to a first terminal, including:

[0044] If the signal strength is determined to be lower than a preset strength threshold, then at least one second terminal is identified;

[0045] A request message is sent to the at least one second terminal requesting the transmission of information indicating downlink communication failure of the first terminal, so that the at least one second terminal sends the information to the first terminal upon receiving the information; wherein the information is sent to the at least one second terminal by a control plane network element when it determines that signal quality has caused downlink communication failure of the first terminal;

[0046] Receive the information sent by the at least one second terminal.

[0047] In some embodiments, determining at least one second terminal includes:

[0048] At least one alternative second terminal is discovered through broadcast information; the at least one alternative second terminal is a second terminal that has successfully established a connection with the first terminal;

[0049] For any candidate second terminal, if the candidate second terminal meets the terminal conditions for being a second terminal, then the candidate second terminal is determined to be the second terminal, wherein the terminal conditions include supporting the reception of information sent by the control plane network element.

[0050] Thirdly, embodiments of this application provide a downlink communication failure processing apparatus, applied to a control plane network element, comprising:

[0051] The determination module is used to determine at least one second terminal if downlink communication of the first terminal fails due to signal quality issues.

[0052] The sending module is used to send downlink communication failure information of the first terminal to the at least one second terminal, so that the at least one second terminal sends the information to the first terminal.

[0053] In some embodiments, the determining module is specifically used for:

[0054] Determine whether the first terminal meets the notification conditions for downlink communication failure;

[0055] If the conditions are met, then at least one second terminal is determined.

[0056] In some embodiments, the determining module is specifically used for:

[0057] Based on the first information received from other network element devices, determine whether the first terminal meets the notification conditions for downlink communication failure; or

[0058] Based on the terminal-related information of the first terminal, determine whether the first terminal meets the notification conditions for downlink communication failure;

[0059] The terminal-related information includes some or all of the terminal's contract information, operator configuration information, terminal capability information, terminal status information, downlink communication information, and demand information.

[0060] In some embodiments, the determining module is specifically used to determine that the first terminal meets the notification condition for downlink communication failure when the terminal-related information of the first terminal meets at least one of the following conditions:

[0061] The terminal's subscription information, operator configuration information, or demand information indicate that if signal quality causes downlink communication failure of the first terminal, a downlink communication failure message is sent to the first terminal.

[0062] The downlink communication information satisfies the triggering condition preset in the subscription information or the operator configuration information for sending downlink communication failure information to the first terminal;

[0063] The terminal capability information indicates that the first terminal supports receiving downlink communication failure information;

[0064] The terminal status information indicates that it is in a receiveable state.

[0065] In some embodiments, the determining module is specifically configured to determine at least one second terminal according to at least one of the following steps:

[0066] Based on the current location information of the first terminal, at least one second terminal is determined;

[0067] Based on the requests from other terminals as request messages for the second terminal, at least one second terminal is determined, wherein the other terminals are the terminals determined by the first terminal;

[0068] Based on the second information sent by other network element devices, at least one second terminal is determined, wherein the second information carries the second terminal information determined by the other network element devices based on the current location information of the first terminal.

[0069] In some embodiments, the determining module determines that there is no third terminal among the at least one second terminal, wherein the third terminal is a terminal that cannot be used as a second terminal based on the terminal-related information of the at least one second terminal, and the terminal-related information includes some or all of the terminal's subscription information, terminal capability information, notification status information, and network status information.

[0070] In some embodiments, the determining module determines the third terminal in any of the following ways:

[0071] The terminal's subscription information indicates that it cannot be used as a second terminal;

[0072] The terminal capability information indicates that the notification capability is not supported or that the notification capability of the terminal does not match the terminal capability information of the first terminal.

[0073] The notification status information indicates that the notification function is currently disabled;

[0074] The network status information indicates that the second terminal is unable to receive signaling or data sent by the wireless access network.

[0075] In some embodiments, the determining module is specifically used for:

[0076] Based on the current location information of the first terminal, the target area of ​​the first terminal is determined;

[0077] Based on the target area and the pre-configured correspondence between different areas and the second terminal, at least one second terminal corresponding to the target area is determined as the second terminal corresponding to the first terminal.

[0078] In some embodiments, the determining module is specifically used for:

[0079] Based on the current location information of the first terminal, candidate terminals that are no more than a preset distance threshold from the first terminal are selected;

[0080] Based on the distance between the selected candidate terminals and the first terminal, some or all of the candidate terminals are determined as the second terminal corresponding to the first terminal.

[0081] In some embodiments, it also includes:

[0082] A connection module is used to send a connection establishment request to the at least one second terminal after the determining module determines the at least one second terminal. The connection establishment request includes connection assistance information so that the second terminal receiving the connection establishment request can establish a connection with the first terminal based on the connection assistance information.

[0083] In some embodiments, if there are multiple determined second terminals, the connection module is specifically used for:

[0084] Send connection establishment requests to some second terminals;

[0085] Receive the connection results fed back by the second terminal;

[0086] If all the connection results reported by the second terminals are connection failures, then a preset number of second terminals that have not sent connection establishment requests are selected from the determined second terminals to send connection establishment requests.

[0087] If all second terminals report connection failures, a connection request will be sent again after a preset time. When the preset number of failures is met, the current second terminal will be excluded and a new second terminal will be selected.

[0088] Fourthly, embodiments of this application provide a downlink communication failure processing apparatus, applied to a first terminal, comprising:

[0089] The determination module is used to determine at least one second terminal if the signal strength is determined to be lower than a preset strength threshold.

[0090] A sending module is configured to send a request message to the at least one second terminal requesting the transmission of information indicating downlink communication failure of the first terminal, so that the at least one second terminal sends the information to the first terminal upon receiving the information; wherein the information is sent to the at least one second terminal by a control plane network element when it determines that signal quality has caused downlink communication failure of the first terminal;

[0091] A receiving module is used to receive the information sent by the at least one second terminal.

[0092] In some embodiments, the determining module is specifically used for:

[0093] At least one alternative second terminal is discovered through broadcast information; the at least one alternative second terminal is a second terminal that has successfully established a connection with the first terminal;

[0094] For any candidate second terminal, if the candidate second terminal meets the terminal conditions for being a second terminal, then the candidate second terminal is determined to be the second terminal, wherein the terminal conditions include supporting the reception of information sent by the control plane network element.

[0095] Fifthly, embodiments of this application provide an electronic device, including: at least one processor, and a memory communicatively connected to the at least one processor, wherein:

[0096] The memory stores a computer program that can be executed by at least one processor, such that the at least one processor is able to perform the downlink communication failure handling method of either the first or second aspect described above.

[0097] In a sixth aspect, embodiments of this application provide a storage medium in which, when a computer program in the storage medium is executed by a processor of an electronic device, the electronic device is able to execute the downlink communication failure handling method described in either the first or second aspect above.

[0098] In a seventh aspect, embodiments of this application provide a computer program product that, when executed by an electronic device, enables the electronic device to perform the downlink communication failure handling method described in either the first or second aspect.

[0099] In this embodiment, if signal quality causes downlink communication failure of the first terminal, at least one second terminal is identified. The downlink communication failure information of the first terminal is sent to the at least one second terminal, enabling the at least one second terminal to forward the information to the first terminal. Thus, when the first terminal cannot connect to the terrestrial network and its signal is weak within the satellite network coverage area due to obstruction, the second terminal sends the downlink communication failure information to the first terminal, allowing the first terminal to promptly detect the downlink communication failure and preventing situations where urgent and important information cannot be obtained in a timely manner.

[0100] Other features and advantages of this application will be set forth in the description which follows, and will be apparent in part from the description, or may be learned by practicing the application. The objectives and other advantages of this application may be realized and obtained by means of the structures particularly pointed out in the written description, claims, and drawings. Attached Figure Description

[0101] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of this application and form part of this application, illustrate exemplary embodiments of this application and are used to explain this application, but do not constitute an undue limitation of this application. In the drawings:

[0102] Figure 1A flowchart illustrating a downlink communication failure handling method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0103] Figure 2 A schematic diagram illustrating the correspondence between different regions and a second terminal, provided for an embodiment of this application;

[0104] Figure 3 A schematic diagram illustrating the distance between a first terminal and other terminals provided in this application embodiment;

[0105] Figure 4 This application provides a schematic diagram illustrating the indirect establishment of a connection between a first terminal and a second terminal, as provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0106] Figure 5 A flowchart illustrating another method for handling downlink communication failures provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0107] Figure 6 An interactive flowchart illustrating a downlink communication failure handling method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0108] Figure 7 An interactive flowchart illustrating another method for handling downlink communication failures provided in this application embodiment;

[0109] Figure 8 An interactive flowchart illustrating another method for handling downlink communication failures provided in this application embodiment;

[0110] Figure 9 A schematic diagram of a downlink communication failure processing device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0111] Figure 10 A schematic diagram of another downlink communication failure processing device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0112] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of an electronic device for implementing a downlink communication failure handling method, provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0113] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this application clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below 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. Based on the embodiments of this application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this application. Unless otherwise specified, the embodiments and features in the embodiments of this application can be arbitrarily combined with each other. Furthermore, although a logical order is shown in the flowchart, in some cases, the steps shown or described may be performed in a different order than that shown here.

[0114] The terms "first" and "second" in the specification, claims, and accompanying drawings of this application are used to distinguish different objects, not to describe a specific order. "And / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A alone, A and B simultaneously, or B alone. The character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects are in an "or" relationship. Furthermore, the term "comprising" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive protection. For example, a process, method, system, product, or device that includes a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, but may optionally include steps or units not listed, or may optionally include other steps or units inherent to these processes, methods, products, or devices. "A plurality" in this application can mean at least two, for example, two, three, or more; this application does not impose such limitations.

[0115] The following description, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrates exemplary embodiments of this application, including various details to aid understanding. These embodiments should be considered merely exemplary. Therefore, those skilled in the art should recognize that various changes and modifications can be made to the embodiments described herein without departing from the scope of this application. Similarly, for clarity and brevity, descriptions of well-known functions and structures are omitted in the following description. It should be noted that in the embodiments of this application, certain existing industry solutions such as software, components, and models may be mentioned. These should be considered exemplary, intended only to illustrate the feasibility of implementing the technical solutions of this application, and do not imply that the applicant has already used or necessarily used such solutions.

[0116] The acquisition, transmission, storage, and use of data in this application all comply with the requirements of relevant national laws and regulations.

[0117] For ease of understanding, the technical terms used in this application are as follows:

[0118] The first terminal / second terminal is a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to a user. Terminal equipment can also be called user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), etc. In this application, the first terminal is the terminal whose downlink communication fails due to signal quality, and the second terminal is the terminal used to send downlink communication failure information to the first terminal.

[0119] For example, the first / second terminal can be a handheld device with wireless connectivity, an in-vehicle device, a roadside unit (RSU) in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, an uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV), etc. Currently, some examples of terminal devices include: mobile phones, tablets, laptops, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in autonomous driving, wireless terminals in remote surgery, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, and wireless terminals in smart homes, etc.

[0120] Core network (CN) equipment refers to network elements included in the CN portion of a mobile communication system. CN equipment enables terminal devices to access different data networks and performs services such as billing, mobility management, session management, and user plane forwarding. In different mobile communication systems, CN equipment with the same functions may have different names. However, this application does not limit the specific name of the CN equipment having each function.

[0121] For example, in 5G mobile communication systems, the core network can be divided into a control plane (CP) and a user plane (UP) according to specific logical functions. Network elements responsible for control plane functions within the core network (CN) can be collectively referred to as control plane network elements, while those responsible for user plane functions can be collectively referred to as user plane network elements. Specifically, in the user plane, network elements that serve as interfaces to the data network and are responsible for user plane data forwarding are called user plane function (UPF) network elements. In the control plane, the network element responsible for access control and mobility management functions is called the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) network element; the network element responsible for session management and execution of control policies is called the Session Management Function (SMF) network element; the network element responsible for managing subscription data and user access authorization functions is called the Unified Data Management (UDM) network element; the network element responsible for billing and policy control functions is called the Policy and Charging Function (PCF) network element; and the application function (AF) network element is responsible for the transmission application side's requirements on the network side.

[0122] Before introducing the downlink communication failure handling provided in the embodiments of this application, the technical background of the embodiments of this application will be described in detail below for ease of understanding.

[0123] Currently, when a terminal misses a call due to reasons such as being busy or unreachable (no signal or powered off), the core network sends the missed call information to the missed call notification system. The missed call notification system generates a missed call notification SMS based on the missed call information and sends it to the SMS system. If the terminal is currently reachable, the SMS system sends the SMS directly to the terminal; otherwise, it saves the SMS and waits until the terminal is reachable before sending the SMS to the terminal.

[0124] In existing technologies, call forwarding is a common way to avoid missed calls. That is, when a terminal does not answer the call due to reasons such as being busy or unreachable (no signal or powered off), the core network forwards the call to a pre-configured target terminal, which can then answer the call on behalf of the original terminal.

[0125] However, when the terminal is in a remote area, it cannot connect to the terrestrial network and can only obtain mobile communication services through the satellite network. If objects around the terminal (such as buildings, trees, mountains, etc.) block the signal or there is severe weather (such as heavy rain, heavy snow, etc.), the satellite signal will be blocked, resulting in a decrease in signal strength or even no signal, which will affect the communication between the terminal and the satellite, that is, the terminal's downlink communication will fail.

[0126] In this situation, if an emergency notification for emergency evacuation or a warning of natural disaster is sent from another terminal, on the one hand, waiting until the terminal's downlink communication is successful before sending it results in a high delay; on the other hand, directly communicating with other pre-configured terminals is also problematic. If the other terminals are close to the target terminal, they are unlikely to be able to communicate, and if they are far away, they will not be able to inform the target terminal in a timely manner. Therefore, if terminal users cannot receive important notifications with high timeliness requirements, such as emergency notifications for emergency evacuation or warnings of natural disasters, it will pose a serious threat to their life safety.

[0127] In view of this, in order to solve the problem in the prior art that when a terminal cannot connect to a terrestrial network and the signal is weak due to objects obstructing the satellite network coverage area, it cannot promptly detect downlink communication failure. Embodiments of this application provide a downlink communication failure processing device and electronic device. Some preferred embodiments of this application are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0128] Please refer to Figure 1 This is a flowchart illustrating a downlink communication failure handling method provided in an embodiment of this application. The method is applied to a control plane network element, which can be an AMF, SMF, PCF, etc., and this application does not limit this type. The method includes the following steps.

[0129] In step 101, if signal quality causes downlink communication failure of the first terminal, then at least one second terminal is identified.

[0130] In practice, the control plane network element can determine the downlink communication failure caused by the signal quality of the first terminal by means of direct or indirect means.

[0131] For example, if the control plane network element sends signaling or data to the first terminal and does not receive a response from the first terminal within a preset reception time, the control plane network element can determine that the downlink communication of the first terminal has failed. At this time, the control plane network element can further determine that the downlink communication failure is caused by signal quality based on the signal quality measurement report between the first terminal and the Radio Access Network (RAN).

[0132] For example, if a control plane network element receives a notification message from another network element indicating that the downlink communication of the first terminal has failed, the control plane network element can determine that the downlink communication of the first terminal has failed. At this time, the control plane network element can further determine that the downlink communication failure is caused by signal quality based on the signal quality measurement report between the first terminal and the RAN.

[0133] In specific implementation, when the control plane network element determines that the downlink communication failure is caused by the signal quality of the first terminal and not by other reasons, it performs the step of determining at least one second terminal. Other reasons may include the first terminal being outside the satellite coverage area, the first terminal being powered on and in a state of not receiving downlink data (such as Mobile Initiated Connection Only (MICO), Extended Discontinuous Reception (eDRX), etc.), the first terminal being powered off, etc.

[0134] In practice, determining at least one second terminal also requires determining whether the first terminal meets the notification conditions for downlink communication failure, that is, whether it is necessary to immediately notify the first terminal of downlink communication failure. If it meets the conditions, at least one second terminal is determined; otherwise, no action is taken.

[0135] In specific implementation, the control plane network element can determine whether the first terminal meets the notification conditions for downlink communication failure based on the first information received from other network element devices; wherein, the first information includes an indication of whether it is necessary to immediately notify the first terminal of downlink communication failure; the control plane network element can also determine whether the first terminal meets the notification conditions for downlink communication failure based on the terminal-related information of the first terminal; wherein, the terminal-related information includes some or all of the terminal's subscription information, operator configuration information, terminal capability information, terminal status information, downlink communication information, and demand information.

[0136] The terminal's subscription information refers to the subscription information of the first terminal regarding whether it needs to be immediately notified of downlink communication failure. For example, the terminal's subscription information indicates that immediate notification to the first terminal is required if the downlink communication meets at least one of the following conditions: the communication type is a call, the source phone number of the call is a specific phone number, the application corresponding to the communication is a specific application, or it is important weather or disaster forecast information. If none of the conditions are met, immediate notification to the first terminal is not required. The terminal's subscription information can be obtained from the UDM by the control plane network element.

[0137] Carrier configuration information: refers to the configuration information of the first terminal regarding whether it needs to be notified immediately of downlink communication failure. Specific examples of the configuration information are shown in the subscription information, and will not be repeated here. The carrier configuration information can be configured in the control plane network element.

[0138] Terminal capability information refers to whether the first terminal supports or is capable of being immediately notified of downlink communication failure. If the first terminal does not support or is not capable of being immediately notified of downlink communication failure, then it is not necessary to immediately notify the first terminal. The terminal capability information can be obtained by the control plane network element from the AMF.

[0139] Terminal status information: refers to whether the first terminal is currently in a state where it can be immediately notified of downlink communication failure. If the first terminal supports or is capable of being immediately notified of downlink communication failure, but the first terminal has currently disabled this function, then it is not necessary to immediately notify the first terminal. The terminal status information can be obtained from the AMF by the control plane network element.

[0140] Downlink communication information: This can include the type of downlink communication (such as telephone, SMS, application, etc.), the data network name (DNN) corresponding to the downlink communication, the slice information corresponding to the downlink communication, the source telephone number corresponding to the downlink communication, and the application information corresponding to the downlink communication.

[0141] Request information: refers to the request information of the first terminal or downlink communication initiator regarding the triggering conditions for immediate notification of downlink communication failure of the first terminal. For example, the first terminal or application function (AF) sends request information to the core network element, and the control plane network element obtains the request information.

[0142] In practice, some or all of the above-mentioned terminal-related information may exist. Therefore, the first terminal can be determined to meet the notification conditions for downlink communication failure when the terminal information of the first terminal meets at least one of the following conditions.

[0143] Condition 1: If the terminal's subscription information, operator configuration information, or demand information indicates that downlink communication failure occurs due to signal quality issues, a downlink communication failure message will be sent to the first terminal.

[0144] Condition 2: The downlink communication information meets the triggering condition for sending downlink communication failure information to the first terminal as preset in the subscription information or operator configuration information. For example, the triggering condition is that the source telephone number corresponding to the downlink communication in the downlink communication information is number 1. If it is determined that the source telephone number corresponding to the downlink communication in the downlink communication information is number 1, then the triggering condition is met.

[0145] Condition 3: The terminal capability information indicates that the first terminal supports receiving downlink communication failure information.

[0146] Condition 4: The terminal status information is in a receiveable state.

[0147] In specific implementation, determining at least one second terminal includes at least one of the following steps:

[0148] Based on the current location information of the first terminal, at least one second terminal is identified;

[0149] Based on the requests from other terminals as request messages for the second terminal, at least one second terminal is determined, and the other terminals are the terminals determined by the first terminal.

[0150] Based on the second information sent by other network element devices, at least one second terminal is determined. The second information carries the second terminal information determined by other network element devices based on the current location information of the first terminal.

[0151] In other words, a control plane network element can determine at least one second terminal by itself, or by other network elements (such as AMF) and then send it to the control plane network element. The second terminal can be fixed, that is, one or more terminals can be fixed as the second terminal, or it can be dynamic, that is, any terminal that supports the announcement capability can be used as the second terminal.

[0152] In practice, the process by which other network elements (such as AMF) determine at least one second terminal can be the same as the process by which control plane network elements can determine at least one second terminal themselves. The following is an example of the process by which control plane network elements can determine at least one second terminal themselves.

[0153] In specific implementation, based on the current location information of the first terminal, at least one second terminal can be determined. Based on the current location information of the first terminal, the target area of ​​the first terminal can be determined. Based on the target area and the pre-configured correspondence between different areas and second terminals, at least one second terminal corresponding to the target area is determined as the second terminal corresponding to the first terminal.

[0154] In practice, the control plane network element or other network element device is pre-configured with a mapping table between different regions and the second terminal, that is, the correspondence between different regions and the second terminal. The control plane network element or other network element device can determine the target region of the first terminal based on the current location information of the first terminal, which can be latitude and longitude information or regional information, etc. Then, according to the target region, it can find the corresponding second terminal in the mapping table. After that, some or all of the found second terminals are determined as the second terminals used this time.

[0155] for example, Figure 2This is a schematic diagram illustrating the correspondence between different regions and a second terminal, provided as an embodiment of this application. Figure 2 As shown, region A consists of six regions: region 1, region 2, region 3, region 4, region 5, and region 6. The second terminal corresponding to region 1 is terminal a, the second terminal corresponding to region 2 is terminal b, the second terminals corresponding to region 3 are terminals c and d, the second terminals corresponding to region 4 are terminals e and f, the second terminal corresponding to region 5 is terminal g, and the second terminal corresponding to region 6 is terminal h. That is, each region can correspond to one or more second terminals. When the first terminal is located in region 3, then terminals c and d can be the second terminals of the first terminal. When the first terminal is located at the boundary between region 3 and region 4, then terminals c, d, e, and f can all be the second terminals of the first terminal.

[0156] In specific implementation, based on the current location information of the first terminal, at least one second terminal can be determined. Alternatively, based on the current location information of the first terminal, candidate terminals that are no more than a preset distance threshold from the first terminal can be selected. Based on the distance between the selected candidate terminals and the first terminal, some or all of the candidate terminals can be determined as the second terminals corresponding to the first terminal.

[0157] for example, Figure 3 A schematic diagram illustrating the distance between a first terminal and other terminals provided in this application embodiment, such as... Figure 3 As shown, the first terminal is UE1. There are three other terminals around UE1: UE2, UE3, and UE4. The distance between UE1 and UE2 is 2 kilometers, the distance between UE1 and UE3 is 2.5 kilometers, and the distance between UE1 and UE4 is 4 kilometers. Assuming a pre-set distance threshold of 3 kilometers, the selected candidate terminals are UE2 and UE3. The selection range is as follows. Figure 3 As shown in the circle, UE2, which is closest to UE1, can be determined as the second terminal. Alternatively, both UE2 and UE3 can be determined as the second terminal. In practice, the second terminal can also be determined based on the distance between the first terminal and other terminals. For example, one or more other terminals that are closest to the first terminal can be directly used as the second terminal based on the distance.

[0158] In practice, when determining the second terminal, in addition to location information, other information of the second terminal besides location information can also be considered, such as terminal-related information of the second terminal, including some or all of the terminal's contract information, terminal capability information, notification status information, and network status information.

[0159] In specific implementation, at least one second terminal can be determined to be without a third terminal. The third terminal is a terminal that cannot be used as a second terminal, determined based on the terminal-related information of at least one second terminal. Even if the location information meets the conditions for a second terminal, the terminal-related information cannot be selected as a second terminal.

[0160] Among them, the terminal's subscription information refers to the terminal's subscription information regarding whether it can be used as a second terminal. The terminal's subscription information can be obtained from the UDM by the control plane network element.

[0161] Terminal capability information refers to whether a terminal supports the ability to announce downlink communication failures. This terminal capability information can be obtained from the AMF by the control plane network element.

[0162] Notification status information: refers to whether the terminal is in a state that can notify downlink communication failure. The notification status information can be obtained by the control plane network element from the AMF.

[0163] Network status information refers to whether a terminal can receive signaling or data sent by the RAN (Radio Access Network). This network status information can be obtained by control plane network elements from the AMF.

[0164] In practice, the third terminal is determined using any of the following methods:

[0165] The terminal's subscription information indicates that it cannot be used as a second terminal. That is, if the terminal's subscription information indicates that the terminal cannot be used as a second terminal, then it cannot be selected as a second terminal.

[0166] If the terminal capability information indicates that it does not support the ability to announce downlink communication failures or that its announcement capability does not match the terminal capability information of the first terminal, then it cannot be selected as the second terminal.

[0167] The notification status information indicates that the notification function is currently disabled. If a terminal supports the ability to notify downlink communication failures but this ability is currently disabled, it is not preferred as a second terminal. If the terminal is selected as a second terminal, it is necessary to request that it enable the function.

[0168] The network status information indicates that the second terminal cannot receive signaling or data sent by the wireless access network. If the terminal is unreachable, it cannot be selected as the second terminal.

[0169] In step 102, the downlink communication failure information of the first terminal is sent to at least one second terminal, so that at least one second terminal sends the information to the first terminal.

[0170] In practice, when there are multiple identified second terminals, the control plane network element can send the downlink communication failure information of the first terminal to some or all of the second terminals.

[0171] In practice, after identifying at least one second terminal, a connection establishment request can be sent to at least one second terminal. The connection establishment request includes connection assistance information, enabling the second terminal receiving the connection establishment request to establish a connection with the first terminal based on the connection assistance information. The connection assistance information includes one or more of the following: technology type information, wireless parameter information, communication mode information, discovery mode information, etc.

[0172] Technology type: refers to the specific wireless technology used to establish the connection, such as Bluetooth, Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi), sidelink, near field communication (NFC), ultra-wideband (UWB), infrared, etc.

[0173] Wireless parameters: These refer to the parameters used by the specific wireless technology to establish a connection, such as frequency band and transmission configuration.

[0174] Communication mode information: refers to information such as the communication mode between the two ends of the connection, such as direct communication, indirect communication, etc. In the case of direct communication, the information can indicate multicast, broadcast, unicast, anycast, etc. In the case of indirect communication, the information can indicate the maximum number of hops, etc.

[0175] Discovery mode information: refers to information about how terminals discover each other, such as one terminal broadcasting "I am here", and another terminal can establish a connection with it after receiving the information, or one terminal broadcasting "Who is there" or "Are you there", and another terminal establishes a connection with it.

[0176] In practice, the control plane network element can determine connection assistance information based on the terminal capability information and / or subscription information of the first and second terminals. The terminal capability information refers to the supported technology type, radio parameters, communication mode, and discovery mode, etc. The subscription information refers to the technology type, radio parameters, communication mode, and discovery mode that can be used to establish a connection to notify of downlink communication failure. The relevant information of the two terminals must match to establish a connection. If there are multiple matching options, the control plane network element can add all options to the connection assistance information or select some options to add.

[0177] In practice, if there are multiple determined second terminals, connection establishment requests can be sent to some of them first, and connection results can be received from some of them. If the connection results from some of the second terminals are all connection failures, a preset number of second terminals that have not sent connection establishment requests can be selected from the determined second terminals to send connection establishment requests. If the connection results from all second terminals are connection failures, connection establishment requests can be sent again after a preset time. When the preset number of failures is met, the current second terminal is excluded and a new second terminal is determined. In practice, the control plane network element can also send connection establishment requests to only one terminal at a time until the connection is successfully established.

[0178] In practice, after receiving connection assistance information, the second terminal attempts to establish a connection with the first terminal. The connection establishment process can be initiated by the second terminal or passively received by the second terminal.

[0179] For example, after receiving a connection establishment request message, the second terminal actively discovers the first terminal and establishes a connection with it; or, when the satellite signal is weak, the first terminal actively broadcasts itself, and the second terminal establishes a connection with the first terminal after receiving a connection establishment request message.

[0180] In practice, the second terminal can also determine whether to allow the establishment of a connection with the first terminal. For example, if the second terminal is currently under high load, it will refuse to establish a connection with the first terminal. Or, if the second terminal has already established a connection with another first terminal, it will refuse to establish a connection with the current first terminal. Or, if the first terminal has already established a connection with another second terminal, it does not need to establish a connection with multiple second terminals at the same time.

[0181] In practice, in certain scenarios, such as when the distance between the first and second terminals exceeds the maximum transmission distance of their jointly supported wireless technology (e.g., due to coarse-grained location information of the first and / or second terminals, or movement of the first and / or second terminals), or when there are obstructions between the first and second terminals affecting data transmission, preventing a direct connection between them, the first and second terminals can still establish a connection indirectly. For example... Figure 4 As shown, Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of an indirect connection established between a first terminal and a second terminal, provided in an embodiment of this application. The first terminal is UE1, the second terminal is UE2, and UE3 and UE4 are not the second terminal, that is, UE3 and UE4 cannot communicate directly with the satellite. In this case, UE1 and UE2 can establish an indirect connection through UE3 and UE4.

[0182] In specific implementation, the control plane network element sends the downlink communication failure information of the first terminal to the successfully connected second terminal, so that the successfully connected second terminal sends the downlink communication failure information to the first terminal. The downlink communication failure information can be one or more of the following information, such as not answering a call and the corresponding phone number, or indicating that a text message and the corresponding phone number were not received, or indicating that a WeChat message and the corresponding nickname were not received, or indicating that important weather or disaster forecast information was not received.

[0183] In practice, it can also receive response messages from the second terminal, which are used to indicate whether the downlink communication has been completed or not.

[0184] In this embodiment, if signal quality causes downlink communication failure of the first terminal, at least one second terminal is determined; the downlink communication failure information of the first terminal is sent to at least one second terminal, so that at least one second terminal sends the downlink communication failure information of the first terminal to the first terminal. In this way, when the first terminal cannot connect to the terrestrial network and the signal is weak due to objects blocking the satellite network coverage area, the second terminal sends the downlink communication failure information to the first terminal, so that the first terminal can detect the downlink communication failure in time, thereby avoiding the situation where urgent and important information cannot be obtained in time.

[0185] The following section provides a detailed description of the downlink communication failure handling method of this application, using the application of the downlink communication failure handling method to the first terminal as an example.

[0186] Please refer to Figure 5 , Figure 5 A flowchart of another downlink communication failure handling method provided in an embodiment of this application, the method including the following steps.

[0187] In step 501, if it is determined that the signal strength is lower than a preset strength threshold, then at least one second terminal is determined.

[0188] In specific implementation, at least one alternative second terminal can be discovered through broadcast information; at least one alternative second terminal is a second terminal that has successfully established a connection with the first terminal; for any alternative second terminal, if the alternative second terminal meets the terminal conditions for being a second terminal, then the alternative second terminal is determined to be the second terminal, wherein the terminal conditions include supporting the reception of information sent by control plane network elements.

[0189] In specific implementation, when the first terminal determines that the signal strength is lower than a preset strength threshold, it can discover a second terminal that supports sending downlink communication failure information through broadcast information; for example, the first terminal broadcasts "Who is around?" or "Are there any second terminals nearby that support sending downlink communication failure information?" It receives a response message from at least one second terminal, which includes indication information supporting the sending of downlink communication failure information; for example, the second terminal responds "I support sending downlink communication failure information." Based on the at least one second terminal that received the response message, it sends a connection establishment request to the at least one second terminal that received the response message; the connection establishment request may include connection assistance information. Based on the connection response sent by the at least one second terminal that received the response message, the at least one second terminal that successfully connected is identified as the at least one second terminal corresponding to the first terminal. The reason for connection failure may be that the at least one second terminal that received the response message refused to establish a connection for security reasons, or that the first terminal stopped the connection establishment process, etc.

[0190] In practice, before determining at least one second terminal corresponding to the first terminal, it can also be determined whether the first terminal meets the notification conditions for downlink communication failure. For example, the first terminal can determine this itself based on one of its local configuration information, capability information, or status information, or it can be determined based on the user's settings. This application does not limit this.

[0191] In step 502, a request message is sent to at least one second terminal requesting the transmission of information about the downlink communication failure of the first terminal, so that at least one second terminal will send the information to the first terminal upon receiving the information; wherein, the information is sent to at least one second terminal by the control plane network element when it determines that the downlink communication failure of the first terminal is caused by signal quality.

[0192] In specific implementation, when the second terminal receives the request message, it can send a request message to the control plane network element requesting the transmission of downlink communication failure information of the first terminal, so that when the control plane network element determines that the downlink communication failure of the first terminal is caused by signal quality, it will send the downlink communication failure information of the first terminal to at least one second terminal.

[0193] In step 503, information sent by at least one second terminal is received.

[0194] When the signal quality of the first terminal is poor, a second terminal is selected to notify the downlink communication failure. The second terminal then informs the control plane network element to request the transmission of downlink communication failure information from the first terminal. When the control plane network element determines that the downlink communication failure of the first terminal is caused by signal quality issues, it sends the downlink communication failure information to the second terminal, which then forwards it to the first terminal. In this way, when the first terminal cannot connect to the terrestrial network and its signal is weak due to obstruction or other factors within the satellite network coverage area, the second terminal sends the downlink communication failure information to the first terminal. This allows the first terminal to promptly detect the downlink communication failure, thereby preventing situations where urgent and important information cannot be obtained in a timely manner.

[0195] The following section details the downlink communication failure handling method of this application, using the interaction process between the first terminal UE1, the second terminal UE2, and the control plane network element as an example.

[0196] Assume that at least one second terminal is determined by the control plane network. Figure 6 This is an interactive flowchart of a downlink communication failure handling method provided in an embodiment of this application, and the method includes the following steps.

[0197] In step 601, the control plane network element determines that the downlink communication failure is caused by the signal quality of UE1.

[0198] In step 602, the control plane network element determines UE2 to notify of downlink communication failure.

[0199] In step 603, the control plane network element sends a connection establishment request to the determined UE2. The connection establishment request is used to request UE2 to establish a connection with UE1, and the connection establishment request contains terminal-related information of UE1.

[0200] The connection establishment request includes connection assistance information, which enables UE2, which receives the connection establishment request, to establish a connection with UE1 based on the connection assistance information.

[0201] In step 604, UE2 initiates a connection to UE1 based on the received connection assistance information.

[0202] In step 605, UE1 sends a connection success response to UE2.

[0203] In step 606, UE2 sends a first response message for connection establishment to the control plane network element. The first response message is used to indicate whether the connection establishment was successful.

[0204] In step 607, the control plane network element sends the downlink communication failure information of UE1 to UE2.

[0205] In step 608, UE2 sends a downlink communication failure message to UE1.

[0206] In step 609, UE2 sends a second response message to the control plane network element indicating downlink communication failure. The second response message is used to indicate whether the downlink communication failure notification has been completed or not.

[0207] In practice, the control plane network element can also directly request UE2 to notify downlink communication failure after UE1 determines that UE2 has failed to notify downlink communication failure due to signal quality failure. After UE2 establishes a connection with UE1, it can notify downlink communication failure.

[0208] Figure 7 The present application provides an interactive flowchart of another method for handling downlink communication failure, which includes the following steps.

[0209] In step 701, the control plane network element determines that the downlink communication failure is caused by the signal quality of UE1.

[0210] In step 702, the control plane network element determines UE2 to notify of downlink communication failure.

[0211] In step 703, the control plane network element sends the downlink communication failure information of UE1 to UE2 and requests UE2 to send the downlink communication failure information of UE1 to UE1. The request message contains connection assistance information.

[0212] In step 704, UE2 initiates a connection to UE1 based on the received connection assistance information.

[0213] In step 705, UE1 sends a connection success response to UE2.

[0214] In step 706, UE2 sends a downlink communication failure message to UE1.

[0215] In step 707, UE2 sends a response message to the control plane network element indicating downlink communication failure. The response message is used to indicate whether the downlink communication failure has been completed or not.

[0216] Assume that UE1 determines at least one second terminal. That is, after determining that the signal is weak, UE1 can determine UE2 for notifying downlink communication failure. UE1 and UE2 establish a connection for notifying downlink communication failure. UE2 sends the information that can be used to notify UE1 of downlink communication failure to the control plane network element. When the downlink communication failure is caused by the signal quality of UE1, the control plane network element sends the downlink communication failure information of UE1 to UE2, and UE2 then notifies UE1.

[0217] Figure 8 The present application provides an interactive flowchart of another method for handling downlink communication failure, which includes the following steps.

[0218] In step 801, UE1 determines that the signal quality is poor.

[0219] For example, the signal strength is lower than a preset strength threshold.

[0220] In step 802, UE1 determines UE2 to notify of downlink communication failure.

[0221] In this application, UE1 can determine UE2 by its own location information. For example, UE1 can configure or obtain a regional notification UE mapping table from the surrounding area and select UE2 from the notification UE list corresponding to the area where UE1 is located. Alternatively, UE1 can broadcast "Who is around?" and the notification UE can respond to UE1 and indicate that it can be a notification UE and its location information; or UE1 can broadcast "Are there any notification UEs around?" and the notification UE can respond to UE1 and indicate its location information; or the notification UE can broadcast "I am a notification UE" and include its location information, and UE1 receives the broadcast information. This application does not limit this.

[0222] In step 803, UE1 sends a connection establishment request to UE2.

[0223] In practice, during the connection establishment process, UE1 sends notification request information to UE2. The notification request information indicates UE1's request for information on the triggering conditions for immediate notification of downlink communication failure.

[0224] In step 804, UE2 sends a connection success response to UE1.

[0225] In step 805, UE1 sends a request message to UE2 requesting the transmission of information indicating that UE1's downlink communication has failed.

[0226] In practice, the request message sent to UE2 requesting the transmission of information about the downlink communication failure of UE1 can also be sent to UE2 in the connection establishment request when sending the connection establishment request to UE2. This application does not limit this.

[0227] In step 806, UE2 sends a request message to the control plane network element requesting to act as UE2 corresponding to UE1. The request message is used to request the control plane network element to act as UE2 when UE1's downlink communication fails.

[0228] In step 807, the control plane network element sends a first response message to UE2 notifying of downlink communication failure. The first response message is used to indicate whether UE2, as the counterpart of UE1, is allowed.

[0229] In step 808, the control plane network element determines that the downlink communication failure is caused by the signal quality of UE1.

[0230] In step 809, the control plane network element sends a downlink communication failure message to UE2.

[0231] In step 810, UE2 sends a downlink communication failure message to UE1.

[0232] In step 811, UE2 sends a second response message to the control plane network element indicating downlink communication failure. The second response message is used to indicate whether the downlink communication failure notification has been completed or not.

[0233] Based on the same technical concept, this application also provides a downlink communication failure processing device. The principle of the downlink communication failure processing device in solving the problem is similar to the downlink communication failure processing method described above. Therefore, the implementation of the downlink communication failure processing device can refer to the implementation of the downlink communication failure processing method, and the repeated parts will not be described again.

[0234] Figure 9 A schematic diagram of a downlink communication failure processing device provided in an embodiment of this application includes a determination module 901 and a sending module 902.

[0235] The determination module 901 is used to determine at least one second terminal if the downlink communication of the first terminal fails due to signal quality.

[0236] The sending module 902 is used to send downlink communication failure information of the first terminal to the at least one second terminal, so that the at least one second terminal sends the information to the first terminal.

[0237] In some embodiments, the determining module 901 is specifically used for:

[0238] Determine whether the first terminal meets the notification conditions for downlink communication failure;

[0239] If the conditions are met, then at least one second terminal is determined.

[0240] In some embodiments, the determining module 901 is specifically used for:

[0241] Based on the first information received from other network element devices, determine whether the first terminal meets the notification conditions for downlink communication failure; or

[0242] Based on the terminal-related information of the first terminal, determine whether the first terminal meets the notification conditions for downlink communication failure;

[0243] The terminal-related information includes some or all of the terminal's contract information, operator configuration information, terminal capability information, terminal status information, downlink communication information, and demand information.

[0244] In some embodiments, the determining module 901 is specifically used to determine that the first terminal meets the notification condition for downlink communication failure when the terminal-related information of the first terminal meets at least one of the following conditions:

[0245] The terminal's subscription information, operator configuration information, or demand information indicate that if signal quality causes downlink communication failure of the first terminal, a downlink communication failure message is sent to the first terminal.

[0246] The downlink communication information satisfies the triggering condition preset in the subscription information or the operator configuration information for sending downlink communication failure information to the first terminal;

[0247] The terminal capability information indicates that the first terminal supports receiving downlink communication failure information;

[0248] The terminal status information indicates that it is in a receiveable state.

[0249] In some embodiments, the determining module 901 is specifically configured to determine at least one second terminal according to at least the following steps:

[0250] Based on the current location information of the first terminal, at least one second terminal is determined;

[0251] Based on the requests from other terminals as request messages for the second terminal, at least one second terminal is determined, wherein the other terminals are the terminals determined by the first terminal;

[0252] Based on the second information sent by other network element devices, at least one second terminal is determined, wherein the second information carries the second terminal information determined by the other network element devices based on the current location information of the first terminal.

[0253] In some embodiments, the determining module 901 determines that there is no third terminal among the at least one second terminal, wherein the third terminal is a terminal that cannot be used as a second terminal based on the terminal-related information of the at least one second terminal, and the terminal-related information includes part or all of the terminal's subscription information, terminal capability information, notification status information, and network status information.

[0254] In some embodiments, the determining module 901 is specifically configured to determine the third terminal by any of the following methods:

[0255] The terminal's subscription information indicates that it cannot be used as a second terminal;

[0256] The terminal capability information indicates that the notification capability is not supported or that the notification capability of the terminal does not match the terminal capability information of the first terminal.

[0257] The notification status information indicates that the notification function is currently disabled;

[0258] The network status information indicates that the second terminal is unable to receive signaling or data sent by the wireless access network.

[0259] In some embodiments, the determining module 901 is specifically used for:

[0260] Based on the current location information of the first terminal, the target area of ​​the first terminal is determined;

[0261] Based on the target area and the pre-configured correspondence between different areas and the second terminal, at least one second terminal corresponding to the target area is determined as the second terminal corresponding to the first terminal.

[0262] In some embodiments, the determining module 901 is specifically used for:

[0263] Based on the current location information of the first terminal, candidate terminals that are no more than a preset distance threshold from the first terminal are selected;

[0264] Based on the distance between the selected candidate terminals and the first terminal, some or all of the candidate terminals are determined as the second terminal corresponding to the first terminal.

[0265] In some embodiments, it also includes:

[0266] The connection module 903 is used to send a connection establishment request to the at least one second terminal after the determining module determines the at least one second terminal. The connection establishment request includes connection assistance information so that the second terminal receiving the connection establishment request can establish a connection with the first terminal based on the connection assistance information.

[0267] In some embodiments, if there are multiple determined second terminals, the connection module 903 is specifically used for:

[0268] Send connection establishment requests to some second terminals;

[0269] Receive the connection results fed back by the second terminal;

[0270] If all the connection results reported by the second terminals are connection failures, then a preset number of second terminals that have not sent connection establishment requests are selected from the determined second terminals to send connection establishment requests.

[0271] If all second terminals report connection failures, a connection request will be sent again after a preset time. When the preset number of failures is met, the current second terminal will be excluded and a new second terminal will be selected.

[0272] Figure 10 A schematic diagram of another downlink communication failure processing device provided in an embodiment of this application includes a determining module 1001, a sending module 1002, and a receiving module 1003.

[0273] The determining module 1001 is used to determine at least one second terminal if the signal strength is determined to be lower than a preset strength threshold.

[0274] The sending module 1002 is configured to send a request message to the at least one second terminal requesting the transmission of information indicating downlink communication failure of the first terminal, so that the at least one second terminal sends the information to the first terminal upon receiving the information; wherein, the information is sent to the at least one second terminal by a control plane network element when it determines that signal quality has caused downlink communication failure of the first terminal;

[0275] The receiving module 1003 is used to receive the information sent by the at least one second terminal.

[0276] In some embodiments, the determining module 1001 is specifically used for:

[0277] At least one alternative second terminal is discovered through broadcast information; the at least one alternative second terminal is a second terminal that has successfully established a connection with the first terminal;

[0278] For any candidate second terminal, if the candidate second terminal meets the terminal conditions for being a second terminal, then the candidate second terminal is determined to be the second terminal, wherein the terminal conditions include supporting the reception of information sent by the control plane network element.

[0279] The module division in this application embodiment is illustrative and only represents one logical functional division. In actual implementation, other division methods are possible. Furthermore, the functional modules in each embodiment of this application can be integrated into a single processor, exist as separate physical entities, or be integrated into a single module. Coupling between modules can be achieved through interfaces, typically electrical communication interfaces, but mechanical interfaces or other types of interfaces are also possible. Therefore, modules described as separate components may or may not be physically separate; they can be located in one place or distributed across different locations on the same or different devices. The integrated modules described above can be implemented in hardware or as software functional modules.

[0280] After introducing the downlink communication failure handling method and apparatus according to exemplary embodiments of this application, an electronic device according to another exemplary embodiment of this application will be introduced next.

[0281] The following reference Figure 11 To describe an electronic device 130 implemented according to this embodiment of the present application. Figure 11 The electronic device 130 shown is merely an example and should not impose any limitations on the functionality and scope of use of the embodiments of this application.

[0282] like Figure 11 As shown, the electronic device 130 is presented in the form of a general-purpose electronic device. The components of the electronic device 130 may include, but are not limited to: at least one processor 131, at least one memory 132, and a bus 133 connecting different system components (including memory 132 and processor 131).

[0283] Bus 133 represents one or more of several bus structures, including a memory bus or memory controller, peripheral bus, processor, or local bus using any of the various bus structures.

[0284] The memory 132 may include a readable medium in the form of volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM) 1321 and / or cache memory 1322, and may further include read-only memory (ROM) 1323.

[0285] The memory 132 may also include a program / utility 1325 having a set (at least one) of program modules 1324, including but not limited to: an operating system, one or more application programs, other program modules, and program data, each or some combination of these examples may include an implementation of a network environment.

[0286] Electronic device 130 can also communicate with one or more external devices 134 (e.g., keyboard, pointing device, etc.), and with one or more devices that enable a user to interact with electronic device 130, and / or with any device that enables electronic device 130 to communicate with one or more other electronic devices (e.g., router, modem, etc.). This communication can be performed via input / output (I / O) interface 135. Furthermore, electronic device 130 can also communicate with one or more networks (e.g., local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), and / or public networks, such as the Internet) via network adapter 136. As shown, network adapter 136 communicates with other modules used in electronic device 130 via bus 133. It should be understood that, although not shown in the figures, other hardware and / or software modules can be used in conjunction with electronic device 130, including but not limited to: microcode, device drivers, redundant processors, external disk drive arrays, RAID systems, tape drives, and data backup storage systems.

[0287] In an exemplary embodiment, a storage medium is also provided, which, when executed by a processor of an electronic device, enables the electronic device to perform the aforementioned downlink communication failure handling method. Optionally, the storage medium may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as a ROM, random access memory (RAM), CD-ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disk, and optical data storage device.

[0288] In an exemplary embodiment, the electronic device of this application may include at least one processor and a memory communicatively connected to the at least one processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program executable by the at least one processor, and when the computer program is executed by the at least one processor, it enables the at least one processor to perform the steps of any downlink communication failure handling method provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0289] In an exemplary embodiment, a computer program product is also provided, which, when executed by an electronic device, enables the electronic device to implement any of the exemplary methods provided in this application.

[0290] Furthermore, computer program products may employ any combination of one or more readable media. A readable medium may be a readable signal medium or a readable storage medium. A readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any combination thereof. More specific examples of readable storage media (a non-exhaustive list) include: electrical connections having one or more wires, portable disks, hard disks, RAM, ROM, erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, optical fiber, compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, or any suitable combination thereof.

[0291] The program product for handling downlink communication failures in the embodiments of this application may be a CD-ROM and include program code, and may run on a computing device. However, the program product of this application is not limited thereto. In this document, the readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that contains or stores a program that may be used by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0292] A readable signal medium may include a data signal propagated in baseband or as part of a carrier wave, carrying readable program code. This propagated data signal may take various forms, including but not limited to electromagnetic signals, optical signals, or any suitable combination thereof. A readable signal medium may also be any readable medium other than a readable storage medium, capable of sending, propagating, or transmitting a program for use by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0293] The program code contained on the readable medium may be transmitted using any suitable medium, including but not limited to wireless, wired, optical fiber, radio frequency (RF), or any suitable combination thereof.

[0294] Program code for performing the operations of this application can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including object-oriented programming languages ​​such as Java and C++, as well as conventional procedural programming languages ​​such as C or similar languages. The program code can execute entirely on the user's computing device, partially on the user's computing device, as a standalone software package, partially on the user's computing device and partially on a remote computing device, or entirely on a remote computing device or server. In cases involving remote computing devices, the remote computing device can be connected to the user's computing device via any type of network, such as a Local Area Network (LAN) or a Wide Area Network (WAN), or it can be connected to an external computing device (e.g., via the Internet using an Internet service provider).

[0295] It should be noted that although several units or sub-units of the device have been mentioned in the detailed description above, this division is merely exemplary and not mandatory. In fact, according to embodiments of this application, the features and functions of two or more units described above can be embodied in one unit. Conversely, the features and functions of one unit described above can be further divided and embodied by multiple units.

[0296] Furthermore, although the operations of the method of this application are described in a specific order in the accompanying drawings, this does not require or imply that these operations must be performed in that specific order, or that all the operations shown must be performed to achieve the desired result. Additionally or alternatively, certain steps may be omitted, multiple steps may be combined into one step, and / or one step may be broken down into multiple steps.

[0297] Those skilled in the art will understand that embodiments of this application can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, this application can take the form of a completely hardware embodiment, a completely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, this application can take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

[0298] This application is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of this application. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, generate instructions for implementing the flowchart... Figure 1 One or more processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A device that provides the functions specified in one or more boxes.

[0299] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable storage medium produce an article of manufacture including instruction means, which are implemented in a process Figure 1 One or more processes and / or boxes Figure 1 The function specified in one or more boxes.

[0300] These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing equipment to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable equipment to produce a computer-implemented process, thereby providing instructions that execute on the computer or other programmable equipment for implementing the process. Figure 1 One or more processes and / or boxes Figure 1 The steps of the function specified in one or more boxes.

[0301] Although preferred embodiments of this application have been described, those skilled in the art, upon learning the basic inventive concept, can make other changes and modifications to these embodiments. Therefore, the appended claims are intended to be interpreted as including the preferred embodiments as well as all changes and modifications falling within the scope of this application.

[0302] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to this application without departing from the spirit and scope of this application. Therefore, if such modifications and variations fall within the scope of the claims of this application and their equivalents, this application also intends to include such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A method for handling downlink communication failure, characterized in that, Applied to control plane network elements, including: If signal quality causes downlink communication failure of the first terminal, then at least one second terminal is identified; The downlink communication failure information of the first terminal is sent to the at least one second terminal, so that the at least one second terminal sends the information to the first terminal.

2. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, Determining at least one second terminal includes: Determine whether the first terminal meets the notification conditions for downlink communication failure; If the conditions are met, then at least one second terminal is determined.

3. The method as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The step of determining whether the first terminal meets the notification conditions for downlink communication failure includes: Based on the first information received from other network element devices, determine whether the first terminal meets the notification conditions for downlink communication failure; or Based on the terminal-related information of the first terminal, determine whether the first terminal meets the notification conditions for downlink communication failure; The terminal-related information includes some or all of the terminal's contract information, operator configuration information, terminal capability information, terminal status information, downlink communication information, and demand information.

4. The method as described in claim 3, characterized in that, The first terminal is determined to meet the notification conditions for downlink communication failure when its terminal-related information meets at least one of the following conditions: The terminal's subscription information, operator configuration information, or demand information indicate that if signal quality causes downlink communication failure of the first terminal, a downlink communication failure message is sent to the first terminal. The downlink communication information satisfies the triggering condition preset in the subscription information or the operator configuration information for sending downlink communication failure information to the first terminal; The terminal capability information indicates that the first terminal supports receiving downlink communication failure information; The terminal status information indicates that it is in a receiveable state.

5. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, Determining at least one second terminal includes at least one of the following steps: Based on the current location information of the first terminal, at least one second terminal is determined; Based on the requests from other terminals as request messages for the second terminal, at least one second terminal is determined, wherein the other terminals are the terminals determined by the first terminal; Based on the second information sent by other network element devices, at least one second terminal is determined, wherein the second information carries the second terminal information determined by the other network element devices based on the current location information of the first terminal.

6. The method as described in claim 5, characterized in that, There is no third terminal among the at least one second terminal identified, wherein the third terminal is a terminal that cannot be used as a second terminal as determined based on the terminal-related information of the at least one second terminal, and the terminal-related information includes part or all of the terminal's subscription information, terminal capability information, notification status information, and network status information.

7. The method as described in claim 6, characterized in that, The third terminal is determined by any of the following methods: The terminal's subscription information indicates that it cannot be used as a second terminal; The terminal capability information indicates that the notification capability is not supported or that the notification capability of the terminal does not match the terminal capability information of the first terminal. The notification status information indicates that the notification function is currently disabled; The network status information indicates that the second terminal is unable to receive signaling or data sent by the wireless access network.

8. The method as described in claim 5 or 6, characterized in that, Determining at least one second terminal based on the current location information of the first terminal includes: Based on the current location information of the first terminal, the target area of ​​the first terminal is determined; Based on the target area and the pre-configured correspondence between different areas and the second terminal, at least one second terminal corresponding to the target area is determined as the second terminal corresponding to the first terminal.

9. The method as described in claim 5 or 6, characterized in that, Determining at least one second terminal based on the current location information of the first terminal includes: Based on the current location information of the first terminal, candidate terminals that are no more than a preset distance threshold from the first terminal are selected; Based on the distance between the selected candidate terminals and the first terminal, some or all of the candidate terminals are determined as the second terminal corresponding to the first terminal.

10. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, After determining at least one second terminal, the method further includes: A connection establishment request is sent to the at least one second terminal, the connection establishment request including connection assistance information, so that the second terminal receiving the connection establishment request establishes a connection with the first terminal based on the connection assistance information.

11. The method as described in claim 10, characterized in that, If there are multiple identified second terminals, then sending a connection establishment request to at least one second terminal includes: Send connection establishment requests to some second terminals; Receive the connection results fed back by the second terminal; If all the connection results reported by the second terminals are connection failures, then a preset number of second terminals that have not sent connection establishment requests are selected from the determined second terminals to send connection establishment requests. If all second terminals report connection failures, a connection request will be sent again after a preset time. When the preset number of failures is met, the current second terminal will be excluded and a new second terminal will be selected.

12. A method for handling downlink communication failure, characterized in that, Applied to the first terminal, including: If the signal strength is determined to be lower than a preset strength threshold, then at least one second terminal is identified; A request message is sent to the at least one second terminal requesting the transmission of information indicating downlink communication failure of the first terminal, so that the at least one second terminal sends the information to the first terminal upon receiving the information; wherein the information is sent to the at least one second terminal by a control plane network element when it determines that signal quality has caused downlink communication failure of the first terminal; Receive the information sent by the at least one second terminal.

13. The method as described in claim 12, characterized in that, The determination of at least one second terminal includes: At least one alternative second terminal is discovered through broadcast information; the at least one alternative second terminal is a second terminal that has successfully established a connection with the first terminal; For any candidate second terminal, if the candidate second terminal meets the terminal conditions for being a second terminal, then the candidate second terminal is determined to be the second terminal, wherein the terminal conditions include supporting the reception of information sent by the control plane network element.

14. A processing device for downlink communication failure, characterized in that, Applied to control plane network elements, including: The determination module is used to determine at least one second terminal if downlink communication of the first terminal fails due to signal quality issues. The sending module is used to send downlink communication failure information of the first terminal to the at least one second terminal, so that the at least one second terminal sends the information to the first terminal.

15. A processing apparatus for downlink communication failure, characterized in that, Applied to the first terminal, including: The determination module is used to determine at least one second terminal if the signal strength is determined to be lower than a preset strength threshold. A sending module is configured to send a request message to the at least one second terminal requesting the transmission of information indicating downlink communication failure of the first terminal, so that the at least one second terminal sends the information to the first terminal upon receiving the information; wherein the information is sent to the at least one second terminal by a control plane network element when it determines that signal quality has caused downlink communication failure of the first terminal; A receiving module is used to receive the information sent by the at least one second terminal.

16. An electronic device, characterized in that, include: At least one processor, and a memory communicatively connected to said at least one processor, wherein: The memory stores a computer program that can be executed by the at least one processor to enable the at least one processor to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-11 or 12-13.

17. A storage medium, characterized in that, When the computer program in the storage medium is executed by the processor of the electronic device, the electronic device is able to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-11 or 12-13.

18. A computer program product, characterized in that, When the computer program product is invoked and executed by an electronic device, it enables the electronic device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-11 or 12-13.

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