Communication method and device

Abstract

The application relates to a communication method, device, computer readable storage medium, computer program product and computer program. The method comprises: a first device receiving first information, wherein the first information is used to determine whether there is a subsequent command to be sent to one or more devices in a first group after the one or more devices in the first group are inventoried.

Description

Communication method and device Technical Field

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

[0002] In related technologies, electronic tags in radio frequency identification (RFID) systems are used for local management and communication of items. However, the distance between electronic tags and readers is short, which limits the use scenarios of electronic tags. Based on this, a new type of electronic tag is considered to be designed in the 3GPP network. This new type of electronic tag can be called an Ambient IoT (Ambient power-enabled IoT, environmental collection Internet of Things) (hereinafter referred to as A-IoT or AIoT) tag or AIoT device. This AIoT tag or AIoT device can use the frequency resources of the 3GPP network for communication. However, how to improve the inventory efficiency of AIoT tags or AIoT devices becomes a problem that needs to be solved.

[0003] Summary of the Invention

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

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

[0006] The first device receives first information, wherein the first information is used to determine whether there are subsequent commands to be sent to the one or more devices in the first group after an inventory is performed on the one or more devices in the first group.

[0007] An embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, including:

[0008] The core network device sends first information, where the first information is used to determine whether there are subsequent commands to be sent to the one or more devices in the first group after the one or more devices in the first group are inventoried.

[0009] An embodiment of the present application provides a first device, including:

[0010] The first communication unit is configured to receive first information, wherein the first information is used to determine whether there are subsequent commands to be sent to the one or more devices in the first group after the inventory of the one or more devices in the first group is performed.

[0011] An embodiment of the present application provides a core network device, including:

[0012] The second communication unit is configured to send first information, wherein the first information is used to determine whether there are subsequent commands to be sent to one or more devices in the first group after the inventory of the one or more devices in the first group is performed.

[0013] An embodiment of the present application provides a first device, comprising: a transceiver, a processor, and a memory. The memory is used to store a computer program, the transceiver is used to communicate with other devices, and the processor is used to call and execute the computer program stored in the memory, so that the first device performs the above method.

[0014] An embodiment of the present application provides a core network device, comprising: a transceiver, a processor, and a memory. The memory is used to store a computer program, the transceiver is used to communicate with other devices, and the processor is used to call and execute the computer program stored in the memory, so that the core network device performs the above method.

[0015] The embodiment of the present application provides a chip for implementing the above method.

[0016] Specifically, the chip includes: a processor, which is used to call and run a computer program from a memory, so that a device equipped with the chip executes the above method.

[0017] An embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program, which enables a device to perform the above method when the computer program is executed by the device.

[0018] An embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product, including computer program instructions, which enable a computer to execute the above method.

[0019] An embodiment of the present application provides a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the above method.

[0020] By adopting the solution provided in this embodiment, a first device can receive first information used to determine whether subsequent commands need to be sent to one or more devices in the first group after an inventory is performed on one or more devices in the first group. Thus, the first device can use this first information to determine whether subsequent commands need to be sent to any device in the first group after the inventory. Once it is determined that no subsequent commands need to be sent to a particular device after the inventory, the first device can directly perform an inventory on other devices in the first group, thereby improving the efficiency of the inventory of devices in the first group. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0022] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the basic communication principle of the AIoT system.

[0023] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the 5G network system architecture.

[0024] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the scenario of the direct connection method of AIoT devices accessing the 5G network.

[0025] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a scenario in which an AIoT device accesses a 5G network in a non-direct connection manner.

[0026] FIG6 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0027] FIG7 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method according to another embodiment of the present application.

[0028] FIG8 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method in a direct connection mode according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0029] FIG9 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method in a non-direct connection mode according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0030] FIG10 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method in a non-direct connection mode according to another embodiment of the present application.

[0031] FIG11 is a schematic flowchart of the inventory and command issuance process according to AIoT devices.

[0032] FIG12 is a schematic block diagram of a first device according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0033] FIG13 is a schematic block diagram of a core network device according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0034] FIG14 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0035] FIG15 is a schematic block diagram of a chip according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0036] FIG16 is a schematic block diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

[0038] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, Advanced Long Term Evolution (LTE-A) system, New Radio (NR) system, NR system evolution system, LTE on unlicensed spectrum (LTE-U) system, NR on unlicensed spectrum (NR-based access to unlicensed spectrum, NR-U) system, Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) system, Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN), Wireless Fidelity (WiFi), Fifth Generation (5G) system or other communication systems.

[0039] Generally speaking, traditional communication systems support a limited number of connections and are easy to implement. However, with the development of communication technology, mobile communication systems will not only support traditional communications, but will also support, for example, device-to-device (D2D) communication, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, and the embodiments of the present application may also be applied to these communication systems. In one possible implementation, the communication system in the embodiment of the present application may be applied to a carrier aggregation (CA) scenario, a dual connectivity (DC) scenario, or a standalone (SA) networking scenario. In one possible implementation, the communication system in the embodiment of the present application may be applied to an unlicensed spectrum, where the unlicensed spectrum may also be considered a shared spectrum; or, the communication system in the embodiment of the present application may also be applied to an authorized spectrum, where the authorized spectrum may also be considered a non-shared spectrum.

[0040] The embodiments of the present application describe various embodiments in conjunction with network devices and terminal devices, where the terminal device may also be referred to as user equipment (UE), access terminal, subscriber unit, subscriber station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent, or user device, etc. The terminal device may be a station (STAION, ST) in a WLAN, a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) device, a handheld device with wireless communication capabilities, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device, a terminal device in a next-generation communication system such as a NR network, or a terminal device in a future-evolved Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) network, etc. In an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld, wearable or vehicle-mounted; it can also be deployed on the water surface (such as a ship, etc.); it can also be deployed in the air (such as an airplane, a balloon, and a satellite, etc.). In an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal device in industrial control, a wireless terminal device in self-driving, a wireless terminal device in remote medical, a wireless terminal device in a smart grid, a wireless terminal device in transportation safety, a wireless terminal device in a smart city, or a wireless terminal device in a smart home, etc. As an example and not a limitation, in an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device can also be a wearable device. Wearable devices, also known as wearable smart devices, are a general term for wearable devices developed by applying wearable technology to intelligently design everyday wearables, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. Wearable devices are portable devices that are worn directly on the body or integrated into clothing or accessories. Wearable devices are more than just hardware devices; they also enable powerful functionality through software support, data interaction, and cloud-based interaction.In a broad sense, wearable smart devices include those that are fully functional, large in size, and can achieve complete or partial functions without relying on smartphones, such as smart watches or smart glasses, as well as those that only focus on a certain type of application function and need to be used in conjunction with other devices such as smartphones, such as various smart bracelets and smart jewelry for vital sign monitoring.

[0041] In an embodiment of the present application, a network device may be a device for communicating with a mobile device. The network device may be an access point (AP) in a WLAN, a base station (BTS) in a GSM or CDMA, a base station (NodeB, NB) in a WCDMA, an evolved base station (eNB or eNodeB) in an LTE, or a relay station or access point, or a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a network device (gNB) in an NR network, or a network device in a future evolved PLMN network or a network device in an NTN network. As an example and not a limitation, in an embodiment of the present application, the network device may have a mobile feature, for example, the network device may be a mobile device. Optionally, the network device may be a satellite or a balloon station. For example, the satellite may be a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite, a medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite, a geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite, a high elliptical orbit (HEO) satellite, etc. Optionally, the network device may also be a base station set up in a location such as land or water. In an embodiment of the present application, the network device may provide services for a cell, and the terminal device may communicate with the network device through the transmission resources used by the cell (for example, frequency domain resources, or spectrum resources). The cell may be a cell corresponding to the network device (for example, a base station), and the cell may belong to a macro base station or a base station corresponding to a small cell. The small cells here may include: metro cells, micro cells, pico cells, femto cells, etc. These small cells have the characteristics of small coverage and low transmission power, and are suitable for providing high-speed data transmission services.

[0042] Figure 1 exemplarily shows a communication system 100. The communication system includes a network device 110 and two terminal devices 120. In a possible implementation, the communication system 100 may include multiple network devices 110, and each network device 110 may include other number of terminal devices 120 within its coverage area, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application. In a possible implementation, the communication system 100 may also include other network entities such as a Mobility Management Entity (MME) and an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application. Among them, the network device may include an access network device and a core network device. That is, the wireless communication system also includes multiple core networks for communicating with the access network device. The access network equipment may be an evolutionary base station (evolutional node B, which may be referred to as eNB or e-NodeB) macro base station, micro base station (also called "small base station"), micro base station, access point (AP), transmission point (TP) or new generation Node B (gNodeB) in a long-term evolution (LTE) system, a next-generation (mobile communication system) (next radio, NR) system or an authorized auxiliary access long-term evolution (LAA-LTE) system. It should be understood that the equipment with communication functions in the network / system in the embodiment of the present application may be referred to as communication equipment. Taking the communication system shown in Figure 1 as an example, the communication equipment may include network equipment and terminal equipment with communication functions. The network equipment and terminal equipment may be specific equipment in the embodiment of the present application, which will not be repeated here; the communication equipment may also include other equipment in the communication system, such as network controllers, mobile management entities and other network entities, which are not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0043] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the following briefly describes the basic processes and basic concepts involved in the embodiments of the present application. It should be understood that the basic processes and basic concepts introduced below do not limit the embodiments of the present application.

[0044] Ambient IoT (Ambient power-enabled IoT) is a wireless communication technology suitable for short-range, low-speed communications. Ambient IoT (hereinafter referred to as A-IoT or AIoT) devices primarily combine radio frequency energy harvesting, backscattering, and low-power computing technologies to achieve the advantage of eliminating the need for power supply devices.

[0045] Figure 2 shows the basic components of an A-IoT system, which includes a reader and a tag. The tag can perform functions such as energy harvesting, backscatter communication, and low-power computing. Energy harvesting refers to radio frequency energy collection, which converts radio frequency energy into direct current (DC). The energy can be stored in batteries or capacitors, or collected and used directly to drive logic circuits, digital chips, or sensor devices, completing functions and applications such as modulation and transmission of backscatter signals and collection and processing of sensor information. The tag is a type of A-IoT device.

[0046] With the development of 5G systems, the 3GPP standard has introduced requirements for 5G systems to support A-IoT device access to the network. A-IoT device access to the network primarily targets scenarios with the following characteristics: extreme environments unsuitable for ordinary terminals; terminals with very low power consumption and cost; and battery-free terminals. A-IoT systems can be used in scenarios such as wireless industrial sensing networks, smart agriculture, smart warehousing and logistics, and smart homes. Based on the energy source and usage of A-IoT devices, A-IoT devices (or A-IoT terminals, or Ambient IoT terminals) can be categorized as follows:

[0047] 1) Passive Ambient IoT Terminals: Passive A-IoT terminals do not require internal batteries. When approaching a network device (such as an RFID reader), they are within the near-field radiation generated by the network device's antenna. Therefore, the passive A-IoT terminal antenna generates an induced current through electromagnetic induction, which drives a low-power chip circuit to demodulate the forward link signal and modulate the reverse link signal. For the backscatter link, the passive A-IoT terminal uses backscattering to transmit signals. As can be seen, passive A-IoT terminals do not require internal batteries to power either the forward link or the reverse link, making them true ambient IoT terminals.

[0048] Passive A-IoT terminals do not require batteries, and the RF circuit and baseband circuit are very simple. For example, they do not require LNA (low noise amplifier), PA (power amplifier), crystal oscillator, ADC and other devices. Therefore, they have many advantages such as small size, light weight, very low price and long service life.

[0049] Passive A-IoT devices also have the following characteristics: no battery; they draw energy from the surrounding environment (such as radio waves, solar energy, wind energy, mechanical kinetic energy, etc.); and they do not have a USIM card. They can also store a certain amount of energy from the surrounding environment, but the energy is very low, so the functional logic they support is much less than that of ordinary mobile phone terminals.

[0050] 2) Semi-passive Ambient IoT Terminals: These terminals do not have conventional batteries installed on them, but can use RF energy harvesting modules to harvest radio wave energy and store the harvested energy in an energy storage unit (such as a capacitor). After the energy storage unit obtains energy, it can drive low-power chip circuits to perform tasks such as demodulating forward link signals and modulating backward link signals. For backscatter links, semi-passive A-IoT terminals use backscattering to transmit signals. As can be seen, semi-passive A-IoT terminals do not require built-in batteries to drive either the forward link or the reverse link. Although energy stored in capacitors is used during operation, the energy comes from radio energy harvested by the energy harvesting module, making them true Ambient IoT terminals.

[0051] Semi-passive A-IoT terminals inherit many advantages of passive A-IoT terminals, so they have many advantages such as small size, light weight, very low price and long service life.

[0052] 3) Active Ambient IoT Terminals: In some scenarios, active Ambient IoT terminals can also be equipped with built-in batteries. The battery powers the low-power chip circuitry in active A-IoT terminals, enabling forward link signal demodulation and reverse link signal modulation. However, for backscatter links, active A-IoT terminals use backscattering to transmit signals. Therefore, the Ambient IoT nature of these terminals lies in the fact that reverse link signal transmission does not require the terminal's own power, but instead utilizes backscattering. Active A-IoT terminals have built-in batteries to power the RFID chip, increasing the tag's read and write range and improving communication reliability. Therefore, they are suitable for scenarios with relatively high requirements for communication distance and read latency. These A-IoT terminals can be tags or standard devices.

[0053] The 5G network system architecture is shown in Figure 3. Specifically, NSSF (Network Slice Selection Function) is mainly used to manage network slice-related information, such as selecting network slices for terminal devices; AUSF (Authentication Server Function) is used to complete the identity authentication function for user access; UDM (Unified Data Management) is used to manage and store contract data and authentication data; AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function) is used to complete mobility management, security anchor and secure UE policy management, etc.; SMF (Session Management Function) is used to complete session management, UE IP address allocation and management, etc.; PCF (Policy Control Function) is responsible for formulating policies related to UE mobility management, session management, billing, etc.; AF (Application Function) is used for external application servers; UPF (User Plane Function) is responsible for user plane processing, etc.; DN (Data Network) is the 5GC external data network (such as the Internet). Data is transmitted between various nodes in the 5G Core Network (5G Core Network), between user equipment (UE) and 5G Core Network nodes, between the UE and the Radio Access Network ((R)AN), and between the RAN and 5G Core Network nodes through corresponding interfaces. For example, as shown in Figure 3: Data is transmitted between the AMF and NSSF in the 5G Core Network (5G Core Network) via interface N22; data is transmitted between the AMF and the SMF via interface N11; data is transmitted between the AMF and the AUSF via interface N12; and data is transmitted between the AMF and the UDM via interface N8. Data is transmitted between the SMF and the UPF via interface N4. The UPF transmits data to the external data network via interface N6 and to the AN via interface N3. The UE connects to the AN via the Uu interface for access stratum communication and wireless data transmission. The UE connects to the AMF via the N1 interface for non-access stratum (NAS) communication and exchanges NAS messages. Data is transmitted between the RAN and the AMF via interface N2, and between the RAN and the UPF via interface N3. It should be understood that the above only describes the interfaces between some nodes, and other interfaces between other 5GC nodes in Figure 3 are not described one by one.

[0054] In a radio frequency identification (RFID) system, a reader is a device that reads or writes information from an electronic tag (tag). During operation, the reader transmits radio frequency energy within an area, creating an electromagnetic field. The size of this area depends on the transmission power. When triggered, an electronic tag within the reader's coverage area transmits its stored data or modifies it according to the reader's command. The reader uses radio frequency (RF) to conduct contactless, two-way data communication with the tag, reading and writing to the tag to achieve target identification and data exchange. Electronic tags generally consume little power and may not even require a power source or battery. For example, passive tags can receive microwave signals from the reader and obtain energy from an electromagnetic induction coil to temporarily power themselves and complete information exchange. RFID has a short transmission range and is used for local management and communication of items, such as inventory management within warehouses, file management, access card management, and electronic highway toll payment.

[0055] In existing radio frequency identification (RFID) systems, electronic tags are used for local object management and communication. The distance between a passive tag and a reader is typically around one meter, while the distance between an active tag and a reader is around 100 meters. This makes it difficult to remotely read, write, or perform inventory checks on the tags, limiting their use cases.

[0056] Based on this, 3GPP networks are considering designing new electronic tags, called Passive IoT tags or Ambient IoT tags (or AIoT devices). Unlike RFID, these Passive IoT tags or Ambient IoT tags (or AIoT devices) can communicate using 3GPP network frequency resources. As shown in Figures 4 and 5, 3GPP TR38.848 currently provides several different access methods for Ambient IoT (AIoT devices) to access 5G networks, including a direct connection method (Figure 4) and an indirect connection method (Figure 5). In the direct connection method (or direct connection mode) shown in Figure 4, AIoT devices and base stations can directly transmit AIoT data / signals. In the indirect connection method (or indirect connection mode) shown in Figure 5, AIoT devices access the wireless network base station through an intermediate node (which can be a UE), and data transmission between the intermediate node and the base station is carried out over the Uu interface. Compared to the direct connection method, the indirect connection method has the following advantages: it can reduce the impact on the existing 3GPP network and extend coverage.

[0057] However, in RFID systems, command services can only be performed after the current tag inventory is completed. Specifically, in RFID systems, the reader must complete the inventory of a tag and issue a command before the next inventory can be performed. This approach is very inefficient. If the serial processing method of the RFID system is still used in 3GPP cellular systems, it will lead to very low efficiency. Therefore, how to improve the inventory efficiency in 3GPP systems has become a problem that needs to be solved.

[0058] It should be understood that the terms "system" and "network" are often used interchangeably in this article. The term "and / or" in this article is merely a description of the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. In addition, the character " / " in this article generally indicates that the objects associated before and after are in an "or" relationship. It should be understood that the "indication" mentioned in the embodiments of this application can be a direct indication, an indirect indication, or an indication of an association relationship. For example, A indicates B, which can mean that A directly indicates B, for example, B can be obtained through A; it can also mean that A indirectly indicates B, for example, A indicates C, and B can be obtained through C; it can also mean that there is an association relationship between A and B. In the description of the embodiments of this application, the term "corresponding" can mean that there is a direct or indirect correspondence between the two, or it can mean that there is an association relationship between the two, or it can mean a relationship between indication and indication, configuration and configuration, etc.

[0059] To facilitate understanding of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the relevant technologies of the embodiments of the present application are described below. The following relevant technologies can be arbitrarily combined with the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application as optional solutions, and they all fall within the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application.

[0060] Figure 6 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application. The method includes at least part of the following contents.

[0061] S610: The first device receives first information, where the first information is used to determine whether there are subsequent commands to be sent to one or more devices in the first group after an inventory is performed on one or more devices in the first group.

[0062] The processing performed by the first device may include: the first device receives the first information; the first device sends one or more inventory messages; after the first device receives an access message carrying the identifier of the second device from the second device in the first group (i.e., any device in the first group), the first device sends (for example, to the core network device) the identifier of the second device to perform an inventory on the second device; if the first device determines that there is no subsequent command to be sent to the second device after the inventory of the second device, the first device continues to send inventory messages to take inventory of other devices in the first group. In this way, the problem of low inventory efficiency caused by the first device continuing to send inventory messages to take inventory of other devices in the group after waiting for a period of time without receiving a subsequent command for the second device can be avoided. The communication method provided in this embodiment can improve the efficiency of inventorying devices in the group.

[0063] The command may include a read command and / or a write command.

[0064] The read command may include descriptive information of specific content to be read from the device. For example, the read command may include descriptive information of at least one of the following contents to be read from the device: content of a specified time period, content of a specified type, content of a specified service, etc.

[0065] The write command may include specific content to be written to the device, which may be determined by the AF. In some possible examples, the write command may include specific content to be written to the device, and may also indicate writing to a designated memory of the device, etc., which is not limited here.

[0066] FIG7 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method according to another embodiment of the present application. The method includes at least part of the following contents.

[0067] S710. The core network device sends first information, where the first information is used to determine whether there are subsequent commands to be sent to one or more devices in the first group after an inventory is performed on one or more devices in the first group.

[0068] Here, the first group may also be referred to as the first AIoT group. Each of the one or more devices in the first group is an AIoT device. In some possible examples, the AIoT device may also be replaced by any one of an Internet of Things device, a zero-power device, a low-power device, an RFID tag, a Passive IoT tag, and an AIoT tag, which are not exhaustive here.

[0069] The first device may be one of the following: a second access network device, a terminal.

[0070] The second access network device may be an access network device serving one or more AIoT devices and / or second devices in the first group.

[0071] The terminal can be an intermediate device, proxy device, or relay device for one or more AIoT devices and / or the second device in the first group, that is, one or more AIoT devices and / or the second device in the first group can interact with the device on the network side through the terminal. In some possible examples, the terminal can also be called any one of an Intermediate Node, a proxy UE, an intermediate UE, a relay device, an intermediate device, a proxy device, and the like.

[0072] The core network device may be a control plane network element, such as an AMF.

[0073] In some possible implementations, before the core network device sends the first information, the process may further include: the core network device receiving the first information sent by the application server.

[0074] Here, the core network device receiving the first information sent by the application server may include: the core network device receiving a first message sent by the application server, where the first message carries the first information.

[0075] Specifically, the core network device receives the first message sent by the application server, which may include one of the following: the core network device directly receives the first message sent by the application server; the core network device receives the first message sent by the application server through NEF (Network Exposure Function).

[0076] The application server may be an AF. This embodiment does not limit the triggering condition for the AF to send the first message and the manner in which the AF generates the first message.

[0077] In addition to carrying the first information, the first message may also carry other content, such as a request or instruction for inventorying the first group, etc., which is not limited in this embodiment. In some possible examples, the first message may be called an inventory request message.

[0078] In some possible implementations, the core network device sending the first information includes: the core network device sending the first information to the first device. Correspondingly, the first device receiving the first information includes: the first device receiving the first information sent by the core network device.

[0079] In one embodiment, each AIoT device in the first group accesses the network using a direct connection method (or mode). The first device may be a second access network device.

[0080] The core network device sending the first information to the first device may be: the core network device sending the first information to the second access network device. Correspondingly, the first device receiving the first information sent by the core network device includes: the second access network device receiving the first information sent by the core network device.

[0081] The core network device sending the first information to the second access network device may include: the core network device sending a second message to the second access network device, wherein the second message carries the first information. Correspondingly, the second access network device receiving the first information sent by the core network device may include: the second access network device receiving the second message sent by the core network device.

[0082] The core network device may generate the second message in such a manner that the core network device extracts the first information from the first message and adds the first information to the second message.

[0083] In some possible examples, the first message may also carry location information corresponding to the first group, where the location information includes at least one of the following: relevant information of a tracking area (TA), relevant information of a cell, and a geographic location.

[0084] The TA-related information may include one or more TA-related information, wherein the relevant information of any TA may include at least one of the following: a TAC (Tracking Area Code) corresponding to the TA and a TAI (Tracking Area Identity) corresponding to the TA.

[0085] The relevant information of the cell may include relevant information of one or more cells, wherein the relevant information of any one cell may be an identifier of the cell; the identifier of the cell may be represented as a Cell ID, or the identifier corresponding to the cell may be a PCI (Physical Cell Identifier).

[0086] The geographic location may include one or more geographic areas. The one or more geographic areas may be represented by coordinates of one or more geographic areas, wherein the coordinates of any one of the geographic areas may be the coordinates of the center point of the geographic area and / or the coordinates of one or more boundary locations of the geographic area, etc.; any one of the coordinates may be represented by GPS coordinates.

[0087] Accordingly, the manner in which the core network device determines the second access network device may include one of the following:

[0088] When the location information corresponding to the first group is relevant information of a TA corresponding to the first group, the core network device determines, based on the relevant information of the TA corresponding to the first group, an access network device in the same TA as the first group as the second access network device;

[0089] When the location information corresponding to the first group is relevant information of a cell corresponding to the first group, the core network device determines, based on the relevant information of the cell corresponding to the first group, an access network device corresponding to the cell where the first group is located as the second access network device;

[0090] When the location information corresponding to the first group is the geographical location corresponding to the first group, the core network device determines, based on the geographical location corresponding to the first group, relevant information about a TA corresponding to the first group; and, based on the relevant information about the TA corresponding to the first group, the core network device determines, as the second access network device, an access network device in the same TA as the first group.

[0091] In the case where the location information corresponding to the first group is the geographical location corresponding to the first group, the core network device determines the relevant information of the cell corresponding to the first group based on the geographical location corresponding to the first group, and the core network device determines the access network device corresponding to the cell where the first group is located as the second access network device based on the relevant information of the cell corresponding to the first group.

[0092] Optionally, the core network device determines, based on the relevant information of the TA corresponding to the first group, an access network device in the same TA as the first group as the second access network device. This may be as follows: the core network device determines, based on the relevant information of the TA corresponding to the first group, one or more access network devices in the same TA as the first group; and determines, from the one or more access network devices in the same TA as the first group, one access network device as the second access network device. Determining, from the one or more access network devices in the same TA as the first group, one access network device as the second access network device may refer to one of the following: when there is only one access network device in the same TA as the first group, selecting the access network device as the second access network device; when there are multiple access network devices in the same TA as the first group, arbitrarily selecting one access network device from the multiple access network devices as the second access network device.

[0093] Optionally, the core network device determines the access network device corresponding to the cell where the first group is located as the second access network device based on the relevant information of the cell corresponding to the first group. This can be as follows: the core network device determines one or more access network devices covering the cell where the first group is located based on the relevant information of the cell corresponding to the first group; and determines one access network device from the one or more access network devices covering the cell where the first group is located as the second access network device. Determining one access network device from the one or more access network devices covering the cell where the first group is located as the second access network device can refer to one of the following: if there is only one access network device covering the cell where the first group is located, selecting the access network device as the second access network device; if there are multiple access network devices covering the cell where the first group is located, arbitrarily selecting one access network device from the multiple access network devices as the second access network device.

[0094] In one embodiment, each AIoT device in the first group accesses the network using a non-direct connection method (or mode). The first device can be a terminal.

[0095] The core network device sending the first information to the first device may be: the core network device sending a third message to the terminal, wherein the third message carries the first information. Correspondingly, the first device receiving the first information sent by the core network device includes: the terminal receiving the third message sent by the core network device.

[0096] The core network device may generate the third message by extracting the first information from the first message and adding the first information to the third message. In this embodiment, the third message may be a NAS (Non Access Stratum) message. It should be understood that in this case, the third message may also be transmitted (e.g., transparently) via the access network device corresponding to the first device. For ease of distinction, the access network device corresponding to the first device, i.e., the terminal, in this scenario is referred to as the third access network device.

[0097] In some possible examples, the first message may also carry location information corresponding to the first group. Accordingly, the manner in which the core network device determines the terminal may include one of the following: when the location information corresponding to the first group is relevant information about the TA corresponding to the first group, the core network device selects a terminal in the same TA as the first group based on the relevant information about the TA corresponding to the first group; when the location information corresponding to the first group is relevant information about the cell corresponding to the first group, the core network device selects a terminal in the cell where the first group is located based on the relevant information about the cell corresponding to the first group; when the location information corresponding to the first group is the geographic location corresponding to the first group, the core network device determines relevant information about the TA corresponding to the first group based on the geographic location corresponding to the first group, and the core network device selects a terminal in the same TA as the first group based on the relevant information about the TA corresponding to the first group; when the location information corresponding to the first group is the geographic location corresponding to the first group, the core network device determines relevant information about the cell corresponding to the first group based on the geographic location corresponding to the first group, and the core network device selects a terminal in the cell where the first group is located based on the relevant information about the cell corresponding to the first group.

[0098] The core network device selects a terminal in the same TA as the first group based on the relevant information of the TA corresponding to the first group. This may be: the core network device determines one or more candidate terminals with the first capability in the same TA as the first group based on the relevant information of the TA corresponding to the first group; and selects a terminal from one or more candidate terminals with the first capability in the same TA as the first group. The first capability may refer to the ability to serve as an intermediate device, proxy device, or relay device for one or more AIoT devices. It should be noted that the capabilities of any candidate terminal may be pre-reported to the core network device, and this embodiment does not limit the way in which any candidate terminal reports its own capabilities.

[0099] Selecting a terminal from one or more candidate terminals with first capability in the same TA as the first group may include one of the following: when there is only one candidate terminal with first capability in the same TA as the first group, using the candidate terminal as the terminal; when there are multiple candidate terminals with first capability in the same TA as the first group, selecting any one from multiple candidate terminals as the terminal.

[0100] The core network device selects a terminal in the cell where the first group is located based on the relevant information of the cell corresponding to the first group, which can be: the core network device determines one or more candidate terminals with the first capability in the cell where the first group is located based on the relevant information of the cell corresponding to the first group; and selects a terminal from the one or more candidate terminals with the first capability in the cell where the first group is located. Selecting a terminal from the one or more candidate terminals with the first capability in the cell where the first group is located can include one of the following: when there is only one candidate terminal with the first capability in the cell where the first group is located, using the candidate terminal as the terminal; when there are multiple candidate terminals with the first capability in the cell where the first group is located, selecting any one of the multiple candidate terminals as the terminal.

[0101] In some possible implementations, the core network device sending the first information includes: the core network device sending the first information to the first access network device. The processing by the first access network device may include: the first access network device receiving the first information sent by the core network device; and sending the first information to the first device. The first device receiving the first information includes: the first device receiving the first information sent by the first access network device.

[0102] This embodiment is particularly suitable for a scenario where each AIoT device in the first group accesses the network in a non-direct connection manner (or mode). In this embodiment, the first device may be a terminal.

[0103] The first device receiving the first information sent by the first access network device may be: the first device receiving a fourth message sent by the first access network device, wherein the fourth message carries the first information. The fourth message may be an AS (Access Stratum) message.

[0104] The manner in which the core network device determines the first access network device is similar to the manner in which the core network device determines the second access network device in the aforementioned embodiment, and is not described again.

[0105] The first access network device may also select a first device, i.e., a terminal. The way in which the first access network device selects a terminal may be one of the following: when the first access network device manages only one candidate terminal with the first capability, the first access network device selects the candidate terminal as the terminal (i.e., the first device); or, when the first access network device manages multiple candidate terminals with the first capability, the first access network device selects any one of the multiple candidate terminals as the terminal (i.e., the first device).

[0106] In some possible implementations, the first information includes a related identifier of the first group.

[0107] Among them, the relevant identifiers of the first group include at least one of the following: the device identification mask of the first group, the group identifier of the first group, the group session identifier of the first group, the group service identifier of the first group, the slice identifier corresponding to the first group, and the data network name DNN corresponding to the first group.

[0108] The device identification mask (Device ID mask) of the first group can be the first K consecutive identical bits of the identification of all AIoT devices in one or more AIoT devices included in the first group. Wherein, K can be an integer greater than or equal to 1, the value of K should be less than the length of the identification of each AIoT device, and K is equal to the length of the consecutive identical bits of the identification of each AIoT device in the first group. For example, the length of the identification (ID) of each AIoT device in the first group is 20 bits, and the first 10 bits of the ID of each AIoT device are the same, then K can be equal to 10, and the device identification mask of the first group is the first 10 consecutive identical bits of the ID of each AIoT device. It should be pointed out that this is only an exemplary explanation. In actual processing, the number of identical bits of the ID of all AIoT devices contained in different groups may be different. Therefore, the length and content of the device identification mask of different groups may be different. Various possible situations are not limited or enumerated here.

[0109] The group identifier of the first group may be expressed as the Group ID of the first group.

[0110] The group session identifier of the first group may be expressed as the Group Session ID of the first group.

[0111] The group service representation of the first group may be represented by the Group Service ID of the first group.

[0112] The slice identifier may refer to an identifier of a network slice. For example, the network slice identifier may be S-NSSAI (Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information); accordingly, the slice identifier corresponding to the first group may be the S-NSSAI corresponding to the first group.

[0113] Optionally, the first information further includes at least one of the following:

[0114] a first indication, wherein the first indication is used to indicate whether there are subsequent commands to be sent to one or more devices in the first group after the inventory of the one or more devices in the first group is performed;

[0115] identifications of at least some of the one or more devices in the first group;

[0116] One or more second indications, wherein different second indications in the one or more second indications correspond to identifiers of different devices in the first group, and each second indication in the one or more second indications is used to indicate whether subsequent commands are sent to the corresponding device in the first group after an inventory is performed on the corresponding device in the first group;

[0117] a first command, wherein the first command is a subsequent command sent to one or more devices in the first group after an inventory of the one or more devices in the first group is performed;

[0118] One or more second commands, wherein different second commands in the one or more second commands correspond to identifiers of different devices in the first group, and each second command in the one or more second commands is a subsequent command sent to a corresponding device in the first group after an inventory of the corresponding device in the first group is performed.

[0119] Among them, the first indication can specifically be used to indicate one of the following: after taking an inventory of all devices in the first group, there are subsequent commands sent to all devices in the first group; after taking an inventory of all devices in the first group, there are no subsequent commands sent to all devices in the first group.

[0120] The first indication is an overall indication for the first group, that is, if the first indication is used to indicate that no subsequent commands are sent to all devices in the first group after an inventory is performed on all devices in the first group, it means that no subsequent commands exist after an inventory is performed on all devices in the first group; if the first indication is used to indicate that subsequent commands are sent to all devices in the first group after an inventory is performed on all devices in the first group, it means that a subsequent command needs to be sent to each device in the first group after an inventory is performed on each device in the first group.

[0121] The identifiers of at least some of the one or more devices in the first group may be: the identifier of each of the one or more devices in the first group, or the identifier of each of some of the one or more devices in the first group.

[0122] Any second indication of the one or more second indications may be bound to, associated with, or correspond to an identifier of each device in at least some of the devices in the first group, and different second indications may be bound to, associated with, or correspond to identifiers of different devices in the first group.

[0123] Any second indication may be used to indicate one of the following: a subsequent command is sent to the corresponding device in the first group after the inventory is performed on the device; and no subsequent command is sent to the corresponding device in the first group after the inventory is performed on the device.

[0124] Furthermore, the first group may include M devices, and the number of the second indication may be N, where both N and M are positive integers, and N may be less than or equal to M.

[0125] In one possible example, the number N of second indications may be equal to 2; that is, there are only two second indications, and the contents of the two second indications are different. For example, the first second indication is used to indicate that a subsequent command is sent to the corresponding device in the first group after the inventory is performed on the device, and the second second indication is used to indicate that a subsequent command is not sent to the corresponding device in the first group after the inventory is performed on the device.

[0126] In this example, different second indications in the two second indications are bound to, associated with, or correspond to identifiers of different devices in the first group. Furthermore, the total number of devices in the first group to which the two second indications are bound to, associated with, or correspond to may be equal to M.

[0127] For example, the first group includes three AIoT devices, namely AIoT device 1, AIoT device 2, and AIoT device 3; the two second indications are second indication 1 and second indication 2, wherein second indication 1 is used to indicate that there are subsequent commands sent to the corresponding device in the first group after the inventory is performed on the device, and second indication 2 is used to indicate that there are no subsequent commands sent to the device after the inventory is performed on the device in the first group. Second indication 1 is bound or associated with or corresponds to the identifier of AIoT device 1 in the first group, that is, second indication 1 is used to indicate that there are subsequent commands sent to AIoT device 1 after the inventory is performed on AIoT device 1 in the first group; second indication 2 is bound or associated with or corresponds to the identifier of AIoT device 2 and the identifier of AIoT device 3 in the first group, that is, second indication 2 is used to indicate that there are no subsequent commands sent to AIoT device 2 and AIoT device 3 after the inventory is performed on AIoT device 2 and AIoT device 3 in the first group.

[0128] In another possible example, the number N of second indications may be equal to M. That is, there is a corresponding second indication for each device in the first group. In this example, each second indication is bound to, associated with, or corresponds to the identifier of a device in the first group, and different second indications are bound to, associated with, or correspond to the identifiers of different devices in the first group.

[0129] For example, the first group includes three AIoT devices, namely AIoT device 1, AIoT device 2, and AIoT device 3; the three second indications are second indication 1, second indication 2, and second indication 3, wherein second indication 1 is used to indicate that subsequent commands are sent to the corresponding device in the first group after the inventory is performed on the device, and second indication 2 and second indication 3 are both used to indicate that subsequent commands are not sent to the device after the inventory is performed on the device in the first group. Second indication 1 is bound or associated with or corresponds to the identifier of AIoT device 1 in the first group, that is, second indication 1 is used to indicate that subsequent commands are sent to AIoT device 1 after the inventory is performed on AIoT device 1 in the first group; second indication 2 is bound or associated with or corresponds to the identifier of AIoT device 2 in the first group, that is, second indication 2 is used to indicate that subsequent commands are not sent to AIoT device 2 after the inventory is performed on AIoT device 2 in the first group; second indication 3 is bound or associated with or corresponds to the identifier of AIoT device 3 in the first group, that is, second indication 3 is used to indicate that subsequent commands are not sent to AIoT device 3 after the inventory is performed on AIoT device 3 in the first group.

[0130] The first command may be a subsequent command sent to each of the one or more devices in the first group after inventorying each of the one or more devices in the first group. That is, the first command is the same subsequent command for each device in the first group.

[0131] The first command may include a first read command and / or a first write command. The first read command may include descriptive information of specific content to be read from the AIoT device. For example, the first read command may include reading at least one of the following from the AIoT device: content of a specified time period, content of a specified type, content of a specified service, etc. The first write command may include specific content to be written to the AIoT device. The specific content to be written to the AIoT device may be determined by the AF and is not limited here.

[0132] Any second command of the one or more second commands may be bound to, associated with, or correspond to an identifier of each device in at least some of the devices in the first group, and different second commands may be bound to, associated with, or correspond to identifiers of different devices in the first group.

[0133] Furthermore, the first group may include M devices, and the number of the second commands may be L, where L and M are both positive integers, and L may be less than or equal to M.

[0134] Among them, the number of identifiers of devices in the first group that each second command in the L second commands can be bound to, associated with, or correspond to can be one or more; different second commands in the L second commands are bound to, associated with, or correspond to identifiers of different devices in the first group. The total number of devices in the first group to which the L second commands are bound, associated with, or correspond can be less than or equal to M; the second commands corresponding to different devices in the first group can be the same or different. Any second command can include a second read command and / or a second write command; wherein, the relevant descriptions of the second read command and the second write command are similar to those of the first read command and the first write command in the aforementioned embodiment, and are not repeated.

[0135] For example, the first group includes three AIoT devices, namely AIoT device 1, AIoT device 2, and AIoT device 3; the two second commands are second command 1 and second command 2, wherein second command 1 is bound to or associated with or corresponds to the identifier of AIoT device 1 in the first group, that is, second command 1 is a subsequent command that needs to be sent to AIoT device 1 after inventorying AIoT device 1 in the first group; second command 2 is bound to or associated with or corresponds to the identifier of AIoT device 2 and the identifier of AIoT device 3 in the first group, that is, second command 2 is the same subsequent command that needs to be sent to AIoT device 2 and AIoT device 3 respectively after inventorying AIoT device 2 and AIoT device 3 in the first group.

[0136] In some possible implementations, after the first device receives the first information, the method further includes: the first device sending one or more inventory messages, wherein the one or more inventory messages are used to take inventory of one or more devices in the first group.

[0137] The first inventory message among the one or more inventory messages carries a related identifier and a count-related value of the first group, and the count-related value is used by one or more devices in the first group to determine an access opportunity.

[0138] The first inventory message may be the first inventory message among one or more inventory messages. The first device may generate the first inventory message by: extracting a related identifier of the first group from the first information; determining a count-related value; and adding the related identifier and the count-related value of the first group to the first inventory message.

[0139] The count correlation value may be expressed as a Q value, which may be a positive number or a positive integer.

[0140] Optionally, the first device may determine the counting-related value in a manner that: the first device locally generates the counting-related value. The manner in which the counting-related value is generated is not limited in this embodiment.

[0141] Optionally, the first device may determine the counting-related value by: the first device receives the counting-related value. This method is particularly applicable to a scenario in which the first device is a terminal and the first device receives first information from a first access network device. In this scenario, after receiving the first information sent by the core network device, the first access network device may generate a counting-related value, carry the counting-related value and the first information in a fourth message, and send it to the terminal; accordingly, the terminal receives a fourth message, which carries the first information and the counting-related value.

[0142] It should be noted that, in one or more inventory messages, in addition to the first inventory message, the remaining inventory messages may carry relevant identifiers and / or count-related values ​​of the first group, or the remaining inventory messages may also carry other content. This embodiment does not limit or enumerate the content carried by other inventory messages except the first inventory message.

[0143] The one or more inventory count messages may be broadcast messages. The time intervals between adjacent inventory count messages in the one or more inventory count messages may be the same or different. In one possible example, the one or more inventory count messages may be sent periodically, that is, the time intervals between adjacent inventory count messages are the same.

[0144] In one embodiment, taking any AIoT device as the second device as an example, the processing after the second device receives the first inventory message may include: the second device determines whether the relevant identifier of the group to which it belongs is consistent with the relevant identifier of the first group in the first inventory message; if the relevant identifier of the group to which the second device belongs is consistent with the relevant identifier of the first group in the first inventory message, the second device extracts the count-related value from the first inventory message, and the second device calculates the initial value of the access count based on the count-related value.

[0145] In addition, the processing after the second device receives the first inventory message may further include: if the relevant identifier of the group to which the second device belongs is inconsistent with the relevant identifier of the first group in the first inventory message, the second device does not process.

[0146] After the second device calculates the initial access count value based on the count-related value, it may also include: when the second device receives a new inventory message, subtracting one from the current access count value to obtain an updated access count value; judging whether the updated access count value is equal to a specified value, and if so, sending an access message to the first device, wherein the access message carries an identifier of the second device.

[0147] In addition, after the second device calculates the initial access count value based on the count-related value, it may also include: if the updated access count value is not equal to the specified value, continuing to detect whether a new inventory message is received, and executing when the new inventory message is received, subtracting one from the current access count value to obtain an updated access count value.

[0148] Here, if the relevant identifier of the group to which the second device belongs is consistent with the relevant identifier of the first group in the first inventory message, it is determined that the second device belongs to the first group; otherwise, it can be determined that the second device does not belong to the first group.

[0149] In the second device, the identifier of the group to which it belongs may be preconfigured, for example, pre-written into the second device; or the identifier of the group to which the second device belongs may be received from another device and stored locally by the second device. This embodiment does not limit the manner in which the second device obtains the identifier of the group to which it belongs.

[0150] The second device calculates the initial access count value based on the count-related value. This can be done by: the second device calculates the maximum access count value based on the count-related value; and then selects a random number between 0 and the maximum access count value, and uses the random number as the initial access count value. The initial access count value can be a positive integer. For example, using the calculated related value represented by Q as an example, the maximum access count value calculated based on the count-related value can be obtained by calculating 2 raised to the power of Q to obtain the maximum access count value.

[0151] The new inventory message may refer to a message other than the first inventory message. The current access count value may be equal to the initial value of the access technology or the access count value after the last update. For example, when the second device receives inventory information for the first time after the first inventory message, the current access count value is equal to the initial access count value. When the second device receives inventory information other than the first inventory message multiple times, the current access count value is equal to the access count value after the last update.

[0152] The specified value can be configured according to actual conditions, for example, it can be 0, or it can be other values, which are not limited or exhaustive here.

[0153] In some possible implementations, after the first device sends one or more inventory messages, the method further includes: the first device receives an access message sent by a second device, wherein the access message carries an identifier of the second device, and the second device is one of the one or more devices in the first group; and the first device sends the identifier of the second device.

[0154] Here, in the process of sending one or more inventory messages by the first device, it is also necessary to perform the process of detecting whether an access message sent by any device in the first group is received. Specifically, after the first device sends one or more inventory messages, the first device receives an access message sent by the second device, and the first device sends the identifier of the second device. This may mean that after the first device sends the i-th inventory message, it detects whether an access message sent by any device in the first group is received. If not, the first device continues to send the i+1-th inventory message and again performs the process of detecting whether an access message sent by any device in the first group is received. This is repeated until, after sending any inventory message, an access message is received from a device in the first group (such as the second device), the sending of inventory messages is suspended, and the first device sends the identifier of the second device.

[0155] After the core network device sends the first information, the method further includes: the core network device receiving an identifier of a second device, where the second device is one of the one or more devices in the first group; and the core network device sending the identifier of the second device to the application server.

[0156] Optionally, the first device is a second access network device or a terminal. The first device sending the identifier of the second device may be: the first device sending the identifier of the second device to the core network device. The core network device receiving the identifier of the second device may be: the core network device receiving the identifier of the second device sent by the first device. It should be noted that when the first device is a terminal, the identifier of the second device may be carried by a NAS message (e.g., an uplink NAS message).

[0157] Optionally, the first device is a terminal. The first device sends the identifier of the second device, which can be: the first device sends the identifier of the second device to the first access network device. The processing of the first access network device may include: the first access network device receives the identifier of the second device sent by the terminal, and sends the identifier of the second device to the core network device. Correspondingly, the core network device receives the identifier of the second device as: the core network device receives the identifier of the second device sent by the first access network device. It should be noted that in this case, the identifier of the second device can be carried by an AS message (such as an uplink AS message).

[0158] After receiving the identifier of the second device sent by the core network device, the application server may complete an inventory of the second device.

[0159] In some possible implementations, after the first device receives the access message sent by the second device, it also includes one of the following: when it is determined based on the first information that there is no subsequent command after the inventory of the second device and the inventory of the devices in the first group is not completed, the first device continues to send one or more inventory messages; when it is determined based on the first information that there is a subsequent command after the inventory of the second device, the first device sends a command corresponding to the second device to the second device.

[0160] The relevant descriptions about the possible contents of the first information have been described in detail in the aforementioned embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0161] Specifically, the processing performed by the first device after receiving the access message sent by the second device may be:

[0162] The first device determines whether there are subsequent commands after performing an inventory on the second device based on the first information;

[0163] If it is determined that there is no subsequent command after the inventory of the second device, determining whether the inventory of the devices in the first group is completed; if it is determined that the inventory of the devices in the first group is completed, ending the process; if the inventory of the devices in the first group is not completed, the first device continues to send one or more inventory messages;

[0164] If it is determined that there is a subsequent command after the inventory is performed on the second device, the first device sends a command corresponding to the second device to the second device.

[0165] Here, the first device determines whether there is a time to process subsequent commands after taking inventory of the second device based on the first information. This may be before the first device sends the identification of the second device, or after the first device sends the identification of the second device, or at the same time as the first device sends the identification of the second device.

[0166] In one example, the first information includes relevant identification of a first group, and also includes at least one of the following: a first indication, identification of at least some of the one or more devices in the first group, and one or more second indications, wherein different second indications in the one or more second indications correspond to identifications of different devices.

[0167] Optionally, the first information includes a related identifier of the first group and a first indication. The first device determines whether there is a subsequent command after inventorying the second device based on the first information. The first device determines whether there is a subsequent command after inventorying the second device based on the first indication in the first information.

[0168] Specifically, the method also includes one of the following: when the first indication in the first information is used to indicate that there are subsequent commands sent to one or more devices in the first group after an inventory is performed on one or more devices in the first group, the first device determines that there are subsequent commands after an inventory is performed on the second device; when the first indication in the first information is used to indicate that there are no subsequent commands sent to one or more devices in the first group after an inventory is performed on one or more devices in the first group, the first device determines that there are no subsequent commands after an inventory is performed on the second device.

[0169] Optionally, the first information includes an identifier related to the first group, identifiers of at least some of the one or more devices in the first group, and one or more second indications. The first device determining whether there are subsequent commands after performing an inventory on the second device based on the first information may include: the first device determining whether there are subsequent commands after performing an inventory on the second device based on the identifier of the second device, identifiers of at least some of the devices in the first information, and the one or more second indications.

[0170] The method also includes one of the following: when the first information includes a second indication corresponding to the identifier of the second device, and the second indication corresponding to the identifier of the second device is used to indicate that there are subsequent commands sent to the second device after an inventory is performed on the second device, the first device determines that there are subsequent commands after an inventory is performed on the second device; when the first information includes a second indication corresponding to the identifier of the second device, and the second indication corresponding to the identifier of the second device is used to indicate that no subsequent commands are sent to the second device after an inventory is performed on the second device, the first device determines that there are no subsequent commands after an inventory is performed on the second device.

[0171] Specifically, the processing of the first device may be: the first device searches the first information for an identifier of the second device; if the identifier of the second device exists in the first information, searches the first information for a second indication corresponding to the identifier of the second device; determines whether the second indication corresponding to the identifier of the second device indicates that there are subsequent commands sent to the second device after an inventory is performed on the second device; if the second indication corresponding to the identifier of the second device is used to indicate that there are subsequent commands sent to the second device after an inventory is performed on the second device, the first device determines that there are subsequent commands after the inventory is performed on the second device; if the second indication corresponding to the identifier of the second device is used to indicate that there are no subsequent commands sent to the second device after an inventory is performed on the second device, the first device determines that there are no subsequent commands after the inventory is performed on the second device.

[0172] In this example, because the first information does not include subsequent commands for any device in the first group, the first device determines that subsequent commands are available after performing an inventory on the second device and needs to wait to receive a command corresponding to the second device. In other words, before the first device sends the command corresponding to the second device to the second device, the first device also receives the command corresponding to the second device.

[0173] Correspondingly, after the core network device sends the identifier of the second device to the application server, it also includes: the core network device receives the command corresponding to the second device sent by the application server; the core network device sends the command corresponding to the second device.

[0174] This embodiment does not limit the manner in which the application server generates a command corresponding to the second device.

[0175] Optionally, when the first device is a second access network device or a terminal, the first device receiving a command corresponding to the second device may be: the first device receiving a command corresponding to the second device sent by a core network device. The core network device sending a command corresponding to the second device may be: the core network device sending a command corresponding to the second device to the first device. When the first device is a terminal, the command corresponding to the second device may be carried by a NAS message (such as a downlink NAS message).

[0176] Optionally, in the case where the first device is a terminal, the first device receives the command corresponding to the second device, which may be: the first device receives the command corresponding to the second device sent by the first access network device. The core network device sends the command corresponding to the second device, which may be: the core network device sends the command corresponding to the second device to the first access network device. Accordingly, the processing of the first access network device may include: the first access network device receives the command corresponding to the second device sent by the core network device, and the first access network device sends the command corresponding to the second device to the terminal. In this example, the command corresponding to the second device sent by the first access network device to the terminal may be carried by an AS message (such as the following downstream AS message).

[0177] In another example, the first information includes relevant identifiers of the first group, and also includes at least one of the following: a first command, identifiers of at least some of the one or more devices in the first group, and one or more second commands, wherein different second commands in the one or more second commands correspond to identifiers of different devices.

[0178] Optionally, the first information includes a related identifier of the first group and a first command. The first device determining whether there is a subsequent command after inventorying the second device based on the first information can be: the first device determining whether there is a subsequent command after inventorying the second device based on the first command in the first information.

[0179] Specifically, the method further includes: when the first information includes a first command, the first device determines that there is a subsequent command after inventorying the second device, and uses the first command as a command corresponding to the second device.

[0180] In this case, since the first command is directed to all devices in the first group, the first device only needs to determine that the first information includes the first command to determine whether there are subsequent commands sent to one or more devices in the first group after inventorying one or more devices in the first group.

[0181] In addition, if the first information only includes the relevant identifier of the first group and does not include any content other than the relevant identifier of the first group, the method may also include: when the first information only includes the relevant identifier of the first group, the first device determines that there is no subsequent command after inventorying the second device.

[0182] Optionally, the first information includes an identifier related to the first group, identifiers of at least some of the one or more devices in the first group, and one or more second commands. The first device determining whether there are subsequent commands after performing an inventory on the second device based on the first information may include: the first device determining whether there are subsequent commands after performing an inventory on the second device based on the identifier of the second device, identifiers of at least some of the devices in the first information, and the one or more second commands.

[0183] The method also includes one of the following: in a case where the first information includes a second command corresponding to the identifier of the second device, the first device determines that there is a subsequent command after an inventory is performed on the second device, and uses the second command corresponding to the identifier of the second device as the command corresponding to the second device; in a case where the first information does not include a second command corresponding to the identifier of the second device, the first device determines that there is no subsequent command after an inventory is performed on the second device.

[0184] Specifically, the processing of the first device may be: searching for the identification of the second device from the first information; in a case where the identification of the second device exists in the first information, if the second command corresponding to the identification of the second device is found from the first information, then the first device determines that there is a subsequent command after the inventory of the second device, and uses the second command corresponding to the identification of the second device as the command corresponding to the second device; in a case where the identification of the second device does not exist in the first information and / or the second command corresponding to the identification of the second device is not found from the first information, the first device determines that there is no subsequent command after the inventory of the second device.

[0185] In this example, since the first information includes subsequent commands for at least some devices in the first group, the first device can directly send the command corresponding to the second device to the second device if it determines that there are subsequent commands after inventorying the second device.

[0186] In some examples, the way in which the first device determines whether the inventory of devices in the first group is completed may include: the first device determines whether the total number of inventory messages sent reaches the maximum value of the access count; if so, it is determined that the inventory of devices in the first group is completed; otherwise, it is determined that the inventory of devices in the first group is not completed.

[0187] Among them, the total number of inventory messages sent can be the total number counted from the first inventory message; the calculation method of the maximum value of the access count is the same as that in the above embodiment, and will not be repeated.

[0188] In some examples, the first device may determine whether the inventory of devices in the first group is complete by: the first device starts counting from zero after the last access message received from any device in the first group; after sending a new inventory message, the first device increments the current count by one, and determines whether a new access message from a device in the first group is received; if a new access message is received, the count is reset to zero; if no new access message is received from a device in the first group, the first device determines whether the current count has reached a specified number of transmissions; if the current count has reached the specified number of transmissions, the first device determines that the inventory of devices in the first group is complete; if not, the first device sends a new inventory message and increments the count by one, and so on. The specified number of transmissions may be configured based on actual conditions and is not limited herein.

[0189] In some examples, when it is determined based on the first information that there is no subsequent command after the inventory of the second device is performed and the inventory of the devices in the first group is not completed, the one or more inventory messages that the first device continues to send have a different time domain range from the one or more inventory messages sent before the first device receives the access message sent by the second device, but the content contained may be the same. Here, there is still no limitation on the content that each inventory message other than the first inventory message should carry.

[0190] In some examples, after the first device sends the command corresponding to the second device to the second device, it may also include: when the first device determines that the second device has completed executing the corresponding command but has not completed the inventory of devices in the first group, the first device continues to send one or more inventory messages.

[0191] The first device may determine that the second device has completed execution of the corresponding command by: the first device starts a corresponding timer when sending the corresponding command to the second device, and determines that the second device has completed execution of the corresponding command when the timer reaches a preset duration; or the first device determines that the second device has completed execution of the corresponding command when it receives a response message from the second device. The timer duration can be configured according to actual circumstances, for example, 10 seconds, 5 seconds, or longer or shorter, and is not limited or exhaustive here.

[0192] The processing of the second device after receiving the corresponding command may include at least one of the following: when the command corresponding to the second device includes a read command, the second device reads the corresponding content based on the read command, and the second device reports the read content; when the command corresponding to the second device includes a write command, the second device locally writes the specific content indicated by the write command (or indicates writing).

[0193] Optionally, the second device reporting the read content may refer to: the second device sending a response message to the first device, where the response message carries the content read by the second device.

[0194] The processing after the first device receives the reply message from the second device may also include: the first device extracting the content read by the second device from the reply message sent by the second device, and the first device sending the content read by the second device.

[0195] Wherein, when the first device is a second access network device or a terminal, the first device sending the content read by the second device may be: the first device sending the content read by the second device to the core network device. Here, when the first device is a terminal, the content read by the second device may be carried in an uplink NAS message.

[0196] Alternatively, when the first device is a terminal, the first device sending the content read by the second device may include: the first device sending the content read by the second device to the first access network device. The processing by the first access network device may include: the first access network device receiving the content read by the second device sent by the first device, and sending the content read by the second device to the core network device. Here, the content read by the second device sent by the first device may be carried in an uplink AS message.

[0197] The processing by the core network device may include: the core network device receiving the content read by the second device, and sending the content read by the second device to the AF. The core network device sending the content read by the second device to the AF may include: the core network device sending the content read by the second device directly to the AF; or the core network device sending the content read by the second device to the AF via the NEF.

[0198] Optionally, after the second device locally writes the specific content indicated by the write command (or instructs writing), it may also include: the second device sends a response message to the first device, and the response message can be used to indicate that the second device has completed writing.

[0199] Correspondingly, the processing of the first device may further include: the first device receiving a response message sent by the second device, and sending a response message of the second device.

[0200] Wherein, when the first device is a second access network device or a terminal, the first device sending the response message of the second device may be: the first device sending the response message of the second device to the core network device. Here, when the first device is a terminal, the response message of the second device may be carried by an uplink NAS message.

[0201] Alternatively, when the first device is a terminal, the first device sending the response message from the second device may include: the first device sending the response message from the second device to the first access network device. The processing by the first access network device may include: the first access network device receiving the response message from the second device sent by the first device, and sending the response message from the second device to the core network device. Here, the response message from the second device sent by the first device may be carried in an uplink AS message.

[0202] The processing by the core network device may include: the core network device receiving a response message from the second device, and sending the response message from the second device to the AF. The core network device sending the response message from the second device to the AF may include: the core network device sending the response message from the second device directly to the AF; or the core network device sending the response message from the second device to the AF via the NEF.

[0203] It should be pointed out that the processing performed by any AIoT device in the first group after receiving the inventory message is the same as that of the second device, so they are not described one by one.

[0204] An exemplary description of the processing scenario of the direct connection mode (or direct connection method) of the above embodiment is given in conjunction with Figure 8. In the scenario shown in Figure 8, both devices (i.e., Device 1 and Device 2 in Figure 8) are AIoT devices, the first group may include Device 1 and Device 2, the gNB is the first device in the above embodiment (the first device is specifically the second access network device), and the AMF is the core network device in the above embodiment. Specifically, the following processing steps are included:

[0205] Step 801: AF sends an inventory request message to AMF (or AF sends it to AMF through NEF).

[0206] Exemplarily, the inventory request message carries a Device ID mask (specifically, the Device ID mask of the first group).

[0207] Optionally, the inventory request message also carries an indication (ie, the first indication in the aforementioned embodiment) of whether there are subsequent commands for these devices (ie, the devices in the first group).

[0208] Optionally, the inventory request message also carries a command. Furthermore, the inventory message indicates that the command is for a group of devices (e.g., identified by a device ID mask), i.e., a first command; or, alternatively, indicates a command for each device (i.e., one or more second commands, with different second commands corresponding to different device IDs).

[0209] In step 802, after receiving the inventory request message from the AF, the AMF forwards the inventory request message (i.e., the second message in the aforementioned embodiment) to the gNB. In step 802, the content carried in the inventory request message is the same as the content carried in the inventory request message in step 801.

[0210] In step 803, the gNB sends an inventory message (Query) and broadcasts the Q value and Device ID mask. Here, the gNB may send the inventory message once or multiple times. The first inventory message sent is called the first inventory message, which may carry the Q value and Device ID mask. In addition to the first inventory message, other inventory messages are called Query Repeat messages. These Query Repeat messages may carry the Q value and / or Device ID mask, and / or other content. This example does not limit this.

[0211] In step 804, after receiving the Q value, Device 1 and Device 2 select a random number between 0 and 2^Q.

[0212] As shown in Figure 8, taking Device 1 as an example, after Device 1 selects a random number, it decrements the random number by 1 each time it receives a Query Repeat message until it reaches 0. Device 1 then initiates the access process and carries the Device ID information (i.e., it sends an access message to the gNB, which carries the ID of the AIoT device).

[0213] On the gNB side, after Device 1 initiates the access procedure, if it is determined based on the indication in the inventory request message in step 802 that Device 1 has subsequent commands, then subsequent steps 805 to 810 are executed:

[0214] In step 805, the gNB reports the Device1ID to the AMF.

[0215] In step 806, the AMF reports the Device1ID to the AF, or reports it to the AF through the NEF.

[0216] Step 807: After receiving the relevant Device1ID, AF triggers the command (including writing data to and / or reading data from Device1); AF sends a Command message directly to AMF or to AMF through NEF, carrying Device1ID and Command specific data.

[0217] Step 808: After receiving the message, the AMF sends a Command message to the gNB.

[0218] In step 809, the gNB sends a Command to Device 1. The Command may include only the Command data, or it may be the same as the Command message.

[0219] In step 810, the gNB continues to inventory other devices (other devices in the first group).

[0220] Specifically, step 810 includes: after the command command of the current Device 1 is completed, the gNB can continue to send Query Repeat messages to inventory other devices.

[0221] Optionally, in step 804, after Device 1 initiates the access procedure, if the gNB determines based on the indication in the inventory request message in step 802 that Device 1 has no subsequent Command command, or does not receive a Command command in the inventory request message in step 802, then step 805 is executed in which the gNB reports the Device 1 ID to the AMF; in step 806, the AMF reports the Device 1 ID to the AF, or reports it to the AF through the NEF; and before, after, or simultaneously with the execution of step 805, the gNB may continue to send Query Repeat messages to inventory other devices.

[0222] Optionally, if the inventory request message in step 802 does not contain an indication for determining whether the device has a subsequent command command, and there is no command command in the inventory request message in step 802; accordingly, in step 804, after Device 1 initiates the access process, the gNB needs to directly wait for a certain period of time before performing Query Repeat. Here, the gNB waiting for a certain time may mean that after executing steps 805 and 806, the AF determines whether there is a command sent to Device 1. If the AF determines that there is no command sent to Device 1, steps 807-809 will not be executed. The gNB may continue to send Query Repeat messages for inventorying other devices if it determines that no command corresponding to Device 1 is received after waiting for a certain time. Alternatively, the gNB waiting for a certain time may mean that after executing steps 805 and 806, if the AF determines that there is a command sent to Device 1, steps 807-809 will still be executed, and then the gNB executes step 810 to continue sending Query Repeat messages for inventorying other devices.

[0223] An exemplary description of the processing scenario of the non-direct connection mode (or non-direct connection method) of the above embodiment is given in conjunction with Figure 9. In the scenario shown in Figure 9, both devices (i.e., Device 1 and Device 2 in Figure 9) are AIoT devices, the first group may include Device 1 and Device 2, the UE is the first device in the above embodiment (the first device is specifically a terminal), the gNB is the first access network device in the above embodiment, and the AMF is the core network device in the above embodiment. Specifically, the following processing steps are included:

[0224] Step 901 is the same as step 801 and will not be described in detail.

[0225] In step 902, after the AMF receives the inventory request message from the AF, the gNB forwards the inventory request message. In step 902, the content carried in the inventory request message is the same as the content carried in the inventory request message in step 901.

[0226] In step 903, the gNB sends an inventory request message (Query) to the UE. This message is the fourth message in the aforementioned embodiment, and the content carried in this message is the same as that in step 902.

[0227] In step 904, the UE sends an inventory message (Query) and broadcasts the Q value and the Device ID mask. Here, the UE sending the inventory message may be: the UE sends the inventory message once or multiple times, wherein the inventory message sent for the first time is the first inventory message, and the first inventory message may carry the Q value and the Device ID mask. In addition to the first inventory message, other inventory messages are called Query Repeat messages, and these Query Repeat messages may carry the Q value and / or the Device ID mask, and / or the Query Repeat message may also carry other content, which is not limited in this example.

[0228] In step 905 , after receiving the Q value, Device 1 and Device 2 select a random number between 0 and 2^Q.

[0229] As shown in Figure 9, taking Device 1 as an example, after Device 1 selects a random number, each time it receives a Query Repeat message, the random number is reduced by 1 until the value drops to 0. Device 1 initiates the access process and carries the Device 1 ID information (that is, sends an access message to the UE, and the access message carries the ID of the AIoT device).

[0230] On the UE side, after Device 1 initiates the access process, if it is determined based on the indication in the inventory request message in step 903 that Device 1 has a subsequent command, subsequent steps 906 to 912 are executed.

[0231] In step 906, the UE reports the Device1ID to the AMF through the gNB.

[0232] Steps 907 to 909 are the same as steps 806 to 808 in the above example and are not described in detail.

[0233] Step 910: The gNB forwards the Command message to the UE.

[0234] Step 911: The UE sends a Command command to the current Device1.

[0235] In step 912, the UE continues to inventory other devices. Specifically, step 912 includes: after the command of the current Device 1 is completed, the UE can continue to send Query Repeat messages to inventory other devices.

[0236] Optionally, in step 905, after Device 1 initiates the access process, if the UE determines based on the indication in the inventory request message that Device 1 has no subsequent Command command, or does not receive a Command command in the inventory request message, then steps 906 to 907 are executed; and, before, after, or simultaneously with executing step 906, the UE may continue to send Query Repeat messages for inventorying other devices.

[0237] Optionally, if the Inventory Request message in step 903 does not contain an indication for determining whether the Device has a subsequent Command, and the Inventory Request message in step 903 does not contain a Command, then in step 905, after Device 1 initiates the access procedure, the UE needs to directly wait for a certain period of time before performing a Query Repeat. Here, the UE waiting for a certain period of time may refer to the AF determining whether a Command has been sent to Device 1 after executing steps 906 and 907. If the AF determines that no Command has been sent to Device 1, steps 908-910 will not be executed. The UE may, after waiting for a certain period of time and determining that no Command corresponding to Device 1 has been received, continue to send Query Repeat messages to inventory other devices. Alternatively, the UE waiting for a certain period of time may refer to the AF determining that a Command has been sent to Device 1 after executing steps 906 and 907, continuing to execute steps 908-911, and then the UE executing step 912.

[0238] An exemplary description of the processing scenario of the non-direct connection mode (or non-direct connection method) of the above embodiment is given in conjunction with Figure 10. In the scenario shown in Figure 10, both devices (i.e., Device 1 and Device 2 in Figure 10) are AIoT devices, the first group may include Device 1 and Device 2, the UE is the first device in the above embodiment (the first device is specifically a terminal), the gNB is the third access network device in the above embodiment, and the AMF is the core network device in the above embodiment. Specifically, the following processing steps are included:

[0239] Step 1001 is the same as step 801 and will not be described in detail.

[0240] In step 1002, after receiving the inventory request message from the AF, the AMF forwards the inventory request message (NAS message) to the UE through the gNB. This message is the third message in the aforementioned embodiment. The content carried by this message is the same as that in step 1001 and is not repeated here.

[0241] In step 1003, the UE sends an inventory message (Query) and broadcasts the Q value and the Device ID mask. The description of step 1003 is the same as that of step 904 and is not repeated here.

[0242] Steps 1004 to 1007 are the same as steps 905 to 908 in the above example and are not described in detail.

[0243] In step 1008, the AMF sends a Command message to the UE, carrying the Device1ID and Command specific data. The Command message can be forwarded to the UE via the gNB or transmitted via a NAS message (for example, transparently transmitted to the UE via the gNB).

[0244] Step 1009: The UE sends a Command to the current Device 1. Here, the Command may only include specific Command data, or may be the same as the content included in the Command message.

[0245] In step 1010, the UE continues to inventory other devices. Specifically, step 1010 includes: after the command of the current Device 1 is completed, the UE can continue to send Query Repeat messages to inventory other devices.

[0246] Optionally, in step 1004, after Device 1 initiates the access process, if the UE determines based on the indication in the inventory request message that Device 1 has no subsequent Command command, or does not receive a Command command in the inventory request message, then steps 1005 to 1006 are executed; and, before, after, or simultaneously with executing step 1005, the UE may continue to send Query Repeat messages for inventorying other devices.

[0247] Optionally, if the Inventory Request message does not contain an indication for determining whether the Device has a subsequent Command command, and the Inventory Request message does not contain a Command command, then in step 1004, after Device 1 initiates the access procedure, the UE needs to directly wait for a certain period of time before performing a Query Repeat. Here, the UE waiting for a certain period of time may refer to the AF determining, after executing steps 1005 and 1006, whether a Command has been sent to Device 1. If the AF determines that no Command has been sent to Device 1, steps 1007-1009 will not be executed. The UE may, after waiting for a certain period of time and determining that no Command corresponding to Device 1 has been received, continue to send Query Repeat messages for inventorying other devices. Alternatively, the UE waiting for a certain period of time may refer to the AF determining that a Command has been sent to Device 1 after executing steps 1005 and 1006, continuing to execute steps 1007-1010.

[0248] With reference to FIG11 , the following describes how the 3GPP network (via the access network device, i.e., gNB) processes the inventory and issuance of commands to AIoT devices in the group (e.g., Device 1 and Device 2 in FIG11 ):

[0249] Step 1101: AF sends an inventory request to AMF or to AMF through NEF, and the request message carries the device ID mask of the group.

[0250] In step 1102, after the AMF receives the inventory request message from the AF, the gNB forwards the inventory request, which carries the device ID mask of the group.

[0251] In step 1103, the gNB sends an inventory message (Query) and broadcasts the Q value and the device ID mask of the group.

[0252] In step 1104, after receiving the Q value, Device 1 and Device 2 select a random number between 0 and 2^Q. As shown in Figure 11, taking Device 1 as an example, after Device 1 selects a random number, it decrements the random number by 1 each time it receives a QueryRepeat message until it reaches 0. Device 1 then initiates the access process and carries its Device 1 ID information.

[0253] In step 1105, the gNB reports the Device1ID to the AMF.

[0254] Step 1106: The AMF reports the Device1ID to the AF, or reports it to the AF through the NEF.

[0255] Step 1107: After receiving the relevant Device1ID, the AF triggers the command (including writing data to and / or reading data from the Device); the AF sends a Command message directly to the AMF or to the AMF through the NEF, carrying the Device1ID and Command specific data.

[0256] Step 1108: After receiving the command, the AMF sends the command to the gNB.

[0257] Step 1109: The gNB sends a command to Device 1.

[0258] In step 1110, after the command of Device 1 is completed, the gNB can continue to send Query Repeat messages to continue to inventory other devices (i.e., continue to inventory other devices in the group).

[0259] As can be seen from the process provided in Figure 11, in related technologies, after the AF sends an inventory message to the gNB through the AMF, the gNB will receive the Device ID reported by a single AIoT device in a group. The Device ID is reported to the AF through the AMF to complete the inventory. Then the AF will send the command corresponding to the AIoT device to the gNB through the AMF. After the AIoT device completes the command processing, the gNB will continue to inventory the next AIoT device. In this process, for each AIoT device currently being inventoried, regardless of whether there are subsequent commands, the gNB needs to wait for a period of time before it can inventory the next AIoT device in the group. This results in low inventory efficiency for multiple AIoT devices in a group.

[0260] By adopting the solution provided by the present application, the first device can receive the first information used to determine whether there are any subsequent commands to be sent to one or more devices in the first group after the inventory of one or more devices in the first group. In this way, the first device can determine whether a subsequent command needs to be sent to any device in the first group after the inventory through the first information. Once it is determined that there are no subsequent commands to be sent to a certain device after the inventory, the other devices in the first group can be directly inventoried, thereby improving the efficiency of the inventory of the devices in the first group. In other words, by adopting the above solution, it is possible to avoid the problem of low inventory efficiency caused by the first device having to wait for a period of time after inventorying a device in the group to determine that no subsequent commands corresponding to the device have been sent, and then determining that the device has no subsequent commands, and then performing an inventory on the other devices in the group.

[0261] FIG12 is a schematic diagram of the composition structure of a first device according to an embodiment of the present application, including:

[0262] The first communication unit 1201 is configured to receive first information, wherein the first information is used to determine whether there are subsequent commands to be sent to one or more devices in the first group after the inventory of one or more devices in the first group is performed.

[0263] The first information includes a related identifier of the first group.

[0264] The first information also includes at least one of the following: a first indication, wherein the first indication is used to indicate whether there are subsequent commands sent to one or more devices in the first group after an inventory is performed on one or more devices in the first group; an identifier of at least some of the one or more devices in the first group; one or more second indications, wherein different second indications in the one or more second indications correspond to the identifiers of different devices in the first group, and each second indication in the one or more second indications is used to indicate whether there are subsequent commands sent to the corresponding device in the first group after an inventory is performed on the corresponding device in the first group; a first command, wherein the first command is a subsequent command sent to one or more devices in the first group after an inventory is performed on one or more devices in the first group; one or more second commands, wherein different second commands in the one or more second commands correspond to the identifiers of different devices in the first group, and each second command in the one or more second commands is a subsequent command sent to the corresponding device in the first group after an inventory is performed on the corresponding device in the first group.

[0265] The first communication unit is configured to send one or more inventory messages, wherein the one or more inventory messages are used to inventory one or more devices in the first group.

[0266] The first inventory message among the one or more inventory messages carries a related identifier and a count-related value of the first group, and the count-related value is used by one or more devices in the first group to determine an access opportunity.

[0267] The relevant identifiers of the first group include at least one of the following: the device identification mask of the first group, the group identifier of the first group, the group session identifier of the first group, the group service identifier of the first group, the slice identifier corresponding to the first group, and the data network name DNN corresponding to the first group.

[0268] The first communication unit is configured to receive an access message sent by a second device, wherein the access message carries an identifier of the second device, and the second device is one of the one or more devices in the first group; and send the identifier of the second device.

[0269] The first communication unit is used to perform one of the following: when it is determined based on the first information that there are no subsequent commands after the inventory of the second device is performed and the inventory of the devices in the first group is not completed, continue to send one or more inventory messages; when it is determined based on the first information that there are subsequent commands after the inventory of the second device is performed, send a command corresponding to the second device to the second device.

[0270] As shown in Figure 12, the first device also includes a first processing unit 1202, which is used to perform one of the following: when the first indication in the first information is used to indicate that there are subsequent commands sent to one or more devices in the first group after the inventory of one or more devices in the first group is performed, determining that there are subsequent commands after the inventory of the second device; when the first indication in the first information is used to indicate that there are no subsequent commands sent to one or more devices in the first group after the inventory of one or more devices in the first group is performed, determining that there are no subsequent commands after the inventory of the second device.

[0271] The first processing unit is used to perform one of the following: determining that there are subsequent commands after an inventory is performed on the second device when the first information includes a second indication corresponding to the identifier of the second device, and the second indication corresponding to the identifier of the second device is used to indicate that there are subsequent commands sent to the second device after an inventory is performed on the second device; determining that there are no subsequent commands after an inventory is performed on the second device when the first information includes a second indication corresponding to the identifier of the second device, and the second indication corresponding to the identifier of the second device is used to indicate that no subsequent commands are sent to the second device after an inventory is performed on the second device.

[0272] The first communication unit is configured to receive a command corresponding to the second device.

[0273] The first processing unit is configured to, when the first information includes a first command, determine that there is a subsequent command after the inventory of the second device, and use the first command as a command corresponding to the second device.

[0274] The first processing unit is used to perform one of the following: when the first information includes the second command corresponding to the identifier of the second device, determine that there is a subsequent command after the second device is inventoried, and use the second command corresponding to the identifier of the second device as the command corresponding to the second device; when the first information does not include the second command corresponding to the identifier of the second device, determine that there is no subsequent command after the second device is inventoried.

[0275] The first communication unit is configured to perform one of the following: receiving first information sent by a core network device; and receiving first information sent by a first access network device.

[0276] The first device is a second access network device or a terminal.

[0277] Each of the one or more devices in the first group is an AIoT device.

[0278] FIG13 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a core network device according to an embodiment of the present application, including:

[0279] The second communication unit 1301 is configured to send first information, where the first information is used to determine whether there are subsequent commands to be sent to one or more devices in the first group after the inventory of one or more devices in the first group is performed.

[0280] The first information includes a related identifier of the first group.

[0281] The first information also includes at least one of the following: a first indication, wherein the first indication is used to indicate whether there are subsequent commands sent to one or more devices in the first group after an inventory is performed on one or more devices in the first group; an identifier of at least some of the one or more devices in the first group; one or more second indications, wherein different second indications in the one or more second indications correspond to the identifiers of different devices in the first group, and each second indication in the one or more second indications is used to indicate whether there are subsequent commands sent to the corresponding device in the first group after an inventory is performed on the corresponding device in the first group; a first command, wherein the first command is a subsequent command sent to one or more devices in the first group after an inventory is performed on one or more devices in the first group; one or more second commands, wherein different second commands in the one or more second commands correspond to the identifiers of different devices in the first group, and each second command in the one or more second commands is a subsequent command sent to the corresponding device in the first group after an inventory is performed on the corresponding device in the first group.

[0282] The second communication unit is used to receive the first information sent by the application server.

[0283] The second communication unit is configured to perform one of the following: sending the first information to the first access network device; sending the first information to the first device.

[0284] The second communication unit is configured to receive an identifier of a second device, where the second device is one of the one or more devices in the first group; and send the identifier of the second device to the application server.

[0285] The second communication unit is configured to receive a command corresponding to the second device sent by the application server; and send a command corresponding to the second device.

[0286] The first device is a second access network device or a terminal.

[0287] Each of the one or more devices in the first group is an AIoT device.

[0288] The device of the embodiment of the present application can realize the corresponding functions of each device in the aforementioned authentication method embodiment. The corresponding processes, functions, implementation methods and beneficial effects of each module (sub-module, unit or component, etc.) in the first device or the core network device can be found in the corresponding description in the above method embodiment, which will not be repeated here. It should be noted that the functions described in the first device of the application embodiment or each module (sub-module, unit or component, etc.) in the core network device can be implemented by different modules (sub-modules, units or components, etc.) or by the same module (sub-module, unit or component, etc.).

[0289] Figure 14 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 1400 according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 1400 includes a processor 1410, which can retrieve and execute computer programs from a memory to enable the communication device 1400 to implement the methods in the embodiments of the present application. In one possible implementation, the communication device 1400 may also include a memory 1420. The processor 1410 can retrieve and execute computer programs from the memory 1420 to enable the communication device 1400 to implement the methods in the embodiments of the present application. The memory 1420 may be a separate device independent of the processor 1410 or integrated into the processor 1410. In one possible implementation, the communication device 1400 may also include a transceiver 1430. The processor 1410 may control the transceiver 1430 to communicate with other devices. Specifically, the transceiver 1430 may send information or data to other devices or receive information or data sent by other devices. The transceiver 1430 may include a transmitter and a receiver. The transceiver 1430 may further include one or more antennas.

[0290] In one possible implementation, the communication device 1400 may be the first device or the core network device of the embodiment of the present application, and the communication device 1400 may implement the corresponding processes implemented by the first device or the core network device in each method of the embodiment of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0291] Figure 15 is a schematic structural diagram of a chip 1500 according to an embodiment of the present application. Chip 1500 includes a processor 1510, which can call and execute computer programs from a memory to implement the methods in the embodiments of the present application. In one possible implementation, chip 1500 may also include a memory 1520. Processor 1510 can call and execute computer programs from the memory 1520 to implement the methods performed by the first device or core network device in the embodiments of the present application. Memory 1520 may be a separate device independent of processor 1510 or integrated into processor 1510. In one possible implementation, chip 1500 may also include an input interface 1530. Processor 1510 may control input interface 1530 to communicate with other devices or chips, specifically, to obtain information or data sent by other devices or chips. In one possible implementation, chip 1500 may also include an output interface 1540. The processor 1510 may control the output interface 1540 to communicate with other devices or chips, and specifically, may output information or data to other devices or chips.

[0292] In one possible implementation, the chip can be applied to the first device or core network device in the embodiment of the present application, and the chip can implement the corresponding processes implemented by the first device or core network device in the various methods of the embodiment of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they are not repeated here. It should be understood that the chip mentioned in the embodiment of the present application can also be called a system-level chip, a system chip, a chip system or a system-on-chip chip, etc. The above-mentioned processor can be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. Among them, the above-mentioned general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc. The above-mentioned memory can be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or can include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory can be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) or a flash memory. The volatile memory can be a random access memory (RAM). It should be understood that the above-mentioned memory is exemplary but not restrictive. For example, the memory in the embodiment of the present application can also be a static random access memory (SRAM), a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), a synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), a double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), an enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), a synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM) and a direct memory bus random access memory (DR RAM), etc. That is, the memory in the embodiment of the present application is intended to include but is not limited to these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0293] Figure 16 is a schematic block diagram of a communication system 1600 according to an embodiment of the present application. Communication system 1600 includes a first device 1610 and a core network device 1620. The first device 1610 can be configured to implement the corresponding functions implemented by the first device in the above-described method. The core network device 1620 can be configured to implement the corresponding functions implemented by the core network device in the above-described method. For the sake of brevity, these details are omitted here.

[0294] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When software is used for implementation, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function in accordance with the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from a website, computer, server or data center by wired (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) mode to another website, computer, server or data center. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrations. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state disk (SSD)).

[0295] It should be understood that in the various embodiments of the present application, the size of the sequence number of each process mentioned above does not mean the order of execution, and the execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiment of the present application. Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working process of the system, device and unit described above can refer to the corresponding process in the aforementioned method embodiment, and will not be repeated here. The above is only a specific implementation method of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art who is familiar with the technical field can easily think of changes or replacements within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, which should be included in the scope of protection of the present application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present application should be based on the scope of protection of the claim.

Claims

1. A communication method, comprising: The first device receives first information, wherein the first information is used to determine whether there are subsequent commands to be sent to the one or more devices in the first group after an inventory is performed on the one or more devices in the first group.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The first information includes a related identifier of the first group.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The first information further includes at least one of the following: a first indication, wherein the first indication is used to indicate whether there are subsequent commands to be sent to one or more devices in the first group after the inventory of the one or more devices in the first group is performed; identifications of at least some of the one or more devices in the first group; One or more second indications, wherein different second indications in the one or more second indications correspond to identifiers of different devices in the first group, and each second indication in the one or more second indications is used to indicate whether subsequent commands are sent to the corresponding device in the first group after an inventory is performed on the corresponding device in the first group; a first command, wherein the first command is a subsequent command sent to one or more devices in the first group after an inventory of the one or more devices in the first group is performed; One or more second commands, wherein different second commands in the one or more second commands correspond to identifiers of different devices in the first group, and each second command in the one or more second commands is a subsequent command sent to a corresponding device in the first group after an inventory of the corresponding device in the first group is performed.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein: After the first device receives the first information, the further step includes: The first device sends one or more inventory messages, wherein the one or more inventory messages are used to inventory one or more devices in the first group.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein The first inventory message among the one or more inventory messages carries a related identifier and a count-related value of the first group, and the count-related value is used by one or more devices in the first group to determine an access opportunity.

6. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein: The relevant identifiers of the first group include at least one of the following: the device identification mask of the first group, the group identifier of the first group, the group session identifier of the first group, the group service identifier of the first group, the slice identifier corresponding to the first group, and the data network name DNN corresponding to the first group.

7. The method according to claim 4 or 5, wherein: After the first device sends one or more inventory messages, the method further includes: The first device receives an access message sent by a second device, where the access message carries an identifier of the second device, and the second device is one of the one or more devices in the first group; The first device sends an identification of the second device.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein: After the first device receives the access message sent by the second device, the method further includes one of the following: In a case where it is determined based on the first information that there is no subsequent command after the inventory of the second device is performed and the inventory of the devices in the first group is not completed, the first device continues to send one or more inventory messages; In a case where it is determined based on the first information that there is a subsequent command after the inventory is performed on the second device, the first device sends a command corresponding to the second device to the second device.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein The method further comprises one of the following: When the first indication in the first information is used to indicate that there are subsequent commands to be sent to one or more devices in the first group after the inventory of one or more devices in the first group is performed, the first device determines that there are subsequent commands after the inventory of the second device; When the first indication in the first information is used to indicate that there are no subsequent commands sent to one or more devices in the first group after inventorying one or more devices in the first group, the first device determines that there are no subsequent commands after inventorying the second device.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein The method further comprises one of the following: When the first information includes a second indication corresponding to the identifier of the second device, and the second indication corresponding to the identifier of the second device is used to indicate that a subsequent command is sent to the second device after the inventory is performed on the second device, the first device determines that a subsequent command is sent to the second device after the inventory is performed on the second device; When the first information includes a second indication corresponding to the identifier of the second device, and the second indication corresponding to the identifier of the second device is used to indicate that no subsequent command is sent to the second device after an inventory is performed on the second device, the first device determines that there is no subsequent command after an inventory is performed on the second device.

11. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein: Before the first device sends a command corresponding to the second device to the second device, the method further includes: The first device receives a command corresponding to the second device.

12. The method according to claim 8, wherein The method further comprises: In a case where the first information includes a first command, the first device determines that there is a subsequent command after taking inventory of the second device, and uses the first command as a command corresponding to the second device.

13. The method according to claim 8, wherein The method further comprises one of the following: In a case where the first information includes a second command corresponding to the identifier of the second device, the first device determines that there is a subsequent command after performing an inventory on the second device, and uses the second command corresponding to the identifier of the second device as the command corresponding to the second device; In a case where the first information does not include a second command corresponding to the identifier of the second device, the first device determines that there is no subsequent command after performing an inventory on the second device.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein: The first device receives first information, including one of the following: The first device receives first information sent by the core network device; The first device receives first information sent by a first access network device.

15. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein: The first device is a second access network device or a terminal.

16. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 15, wherein: Each of the one or more devices in the first group is an AIoT device.

17. A communication method, comprising: The core network device sends first information, where the first information is used to determine whether there are subsequent commands to be sent to the one or more devices in the first group after the one or more devices in the first group are inventoried.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein The first information includes a related identifier of the first group.

19. The method according to claim 17 or 18, wherein The first information further includes at least one of the following: a first indication, wherein the first indication is used to indicate whether there are subsequent commands to be sent to one or more devices in the first group after the inventory of the one or more devices in the first group is performed; identifications of at least some of the one or more devices in the first group; One or more second indications, wherein different second indications in the one or more second indications correspond to identifiers of different devices in the first group, and each second indication in the one or more second indications is used to indicate whether subsequent commands are sent to the corresponding device in the first group after an inventory is performed on the corresponding device in the first group; a first command, wherein the first command is a subsequent command sent to one or more devices in the first group after an inventory of the one or more devices in the first group is performed; One or more second commands, wherein different second commands in the one or more second commands correspond to identifiers of different devices in the first group, and each second command in the one or more second commands is a subsequent command sent to a corresponding device in the first group after an inventory of the corresponding device in the first group is performed.

20. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 19, wherein: Before the core network device sends the first information, the method further includes: The core network device receives the first information sent by the application server.

21. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 20, wherein: The core network device sends the first information, including one of the following: The core network device sends the first information to the first access network device; The core network device sends the first information to the first device.

22. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 21, wherein: After the core network device sends the first information, the method further includes: The core network device receives an identifier of a second device, where the second device is one of the one or more devices in the first group; The core network device sends the identifier of the second device to the application server.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein After the core network device sends the identifier of the second device to the application server, the method further includes: The core network device receives a command corresponding to the second device sent by the application server; The core network device sends a command corresponding to the second device.

24. The method according to claim 21, wherein The first device is a second access network device or a terminal.

25. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 24, wherein: Each of the one or more devices in the first group is an AIoT device.

26. A first device, comprising: The first communication unit is configured to receive first information, wherein the first information is used to determine whether there are subsequent commands to be sent to the one or more devices in the first group after the inventory of the one or more devices in the first group is performed.

27. The first device according to claim 26, wherein The first information includes a related identifier of the first group.

28. The first device according to claim 26 or 27, wherein The first information also includes at least one of the following: a first indication, wherein the first indication is used to indicate whether there are subsequent commands sent to one or more devices in the first group after an inventory is performed on one or more devices in the first group; an identifier of at least some of the one or more devices in the first group; one or more second indications, wherein different second indications in the one or more second indications correspond to the identifiers of different devices in the first group, and each second indication in the one or more second indications is used to indicate whether there are subsequent commands sent to the corresponding device in the first group after an inventory is performed on the corresponding device in the first group; a first command, wherein the first command is a subsequent command sent to one or more devices in the first group after an inventory is performed on one or more devices in the first group; one or more second commands, wherein different second commands in the one or more second commands correspond to the identifiers of different devices in the first group, and each second command in the one or more second commands is a subsequent command sent to the corresponding device in the first group after an inventory is performed on the corresponding device in the first group.

29. The first device according to claim 28, wherein The first communication unit is configured to send one or more inventory messages, wherein the one or more inventory messages are used to inventory one or more devices in the first group.

30. The first device according to claim 29, wherein The first inventory message among the one or more inventory messages carries a related identifier and a count-related value of the first group, and the count-related value is used by one or more devices in the first group to determine an access opportunity.

31. The first device according to any one of claims 27 to 30, wherein: The relevant identifiers of the first group include at least one of the following: the device identification mask of the first group, the group identifier of the first group, the group session identifier of the first group, the group service identifier of the first group, the slice identifier corresponding to the first group, and the data network name DNN corresponding to the first group.

32. The first device according to claim 29 or 30, wherein The first communication unit is configured to receive an access message sent by a second device, wherein the access message carries an identifier of the second device, and the second device is one of the one or more devices in the first group; and send the identifier of the second device.

33. The first device according to claim 32, wherein The first communication unit is used to perform one of the following: when it is determined based on the first information that there are no subsequent commands after the inventory of the second device is performed and the inventory of the devices in the first group is not completed, continue to send one or more inventory messages; when it is determined based on the first information that there are subsequent commands after the inventory of the second device is performed, send a command corresponding to the second device to the second device.

34. The first device according to claim 33, wherein The first device also includes a first processing unit for performing one of the following: determining that there are subsequent commands after an inventory is performed on the second device when the first indication in the first information is used to indicate that there are subsequent commands sent to one or more devices in the first group after an inventory is performed on one or more devices in the first group; determining that there are no subsequent commands after an inventory is performed on the second device when the first indication in the first information is used to indicate that no subsequent commands are sent to one or more devices in the first group after an inventory is performed on one or more devices in the first group.

35. The first device according to claim 33, wherein The first processing unit is used to perform one of the following: determining that there are subsequent commands after an inventory is performed on the second device when the first information includes a second indication corresponding to the identifier of the second device, and the second indication corresponding to the identifier of the second device is used to indicate that there are subsequent commands sent to the second device after an inventory is performed on the second device; determining that there are no subsequent commands after an inventory is performed on the second device when the first information includes a second indication corresponding to the identifier of the second device, and the second indication corresponding to the identifier of the second device is used to indicate that no subsequent commands are sent to the second device after an inventory is performed on the second device.

36. The first device according to any one of claims 32 to 35, wherein: The first communication unit is configured to receive a command corresponding to the second device.

37. The first device according to claim 33, wherein The first processing unit is configured to, when the first information includes a first command, determine that there is a subsequent command after the inventory of the second device, and use the first command as a command corresponding to the second device.

38. The first device according to claim 33, wherein The first processing unit is configured to perform one of the following: if the first information includes a second command corresponding to the identifier of the second device, determining that there is a subsequent command after the inventory of the second device, and using the second command corresponding to the identifier of the second device as the command corresponding to the second device; In a case where the first information does not include a second command corresponding to the identifier of the second device, it is determined that there is no subsequent command after the inventory is performed on the second device.

39. The first device according to any one of claims 26 to 38, wherein: The first communication unit is configured to perform one of the following: receiving first information sent by a core network device; and receiving first information sent by a first access network device.

40. The first device according to any one of claims 26 to 39, wherein: The first device is a second access network device or a terminal.

41. The first device according to any one of claims 26 to 40, wherein: Each of the one or more devices in the first group is an AIoT device.

42. A core network device, comprising: The second communication unit is configured to send first information, wherein the first information is used to determine whether there are subsequent commands to be sent to one or more devices in the first group after the inventory of the one or more devices in the first group is performed.

43. The core network device according to claim 42, wherein: The first information includes a related identifier of the first group.

44. The core network device according to claim 42 or 43, wherein: The first information also includes at least one of the following: a first indication, wherein the first indication is used to indicate whether there are subsequent commands sent to one or more devices in the first group after an inventory is performed on one or more devices in the first group; an identifier of at least some of the one or more devices in the first group; one or more second indications, wherein different second indications in the one or more second indications correspond to the identifiers of different devices in the first group, and each second indication in the one or more second indications is used to indicate whether there are subsequent commands sent to the corresponding device in the first group after an inventory is performed on the corresponding device in the first group; a first command, wherein the first command is a subsequent command sent to one or more devices in the first group after an inventory is performed on one or more devices in the first group; one or more second commands, wherein different second commands in the one or more second commands correspond to the identifiers of different devices in the first group, and each second command in the one or more second commands is a subsequent command sent to the corresponding device in the first group after an inventory is performed on the corresponding device in the first group.

45. The core network device according to any one of claims 42 to 44, wherein: The second communication unit is used to receive the first information sent by the application server.

46. ​​The core network device according to any one of claims 42 to 45, wherein: The second communication unit is configured to perform one of the following: sending the first information to the first access network device; sending the first information to the first device.

47. The core network device according to any one of claims 42 to 46, wherein: The second communication unit is configured to receive an identifier of a second device, where the second device is one of the one or more devices in the first group; and send the identifier of the second device to the application server.

48. The core network device according to claim 47, wherein: The second communication unit is configured to receive a command corresponding to the second device sent by the application server; and send a command corresponding to the second device.

49. The core network device according to claim 46, wherein: The first device is a second access network device or a terminal.

50. The core network device according to any one of claims 42 to 49, wherein: Each of the one or more devices in the first group is an AIoT device.

51. A first device comprising: A transceiver, a processor and a memory, the memory being used to store a computer program, the transceiver being used to communicate with other devices, and the processor being used to call and run the computer program stored in the memory, so that the first device performs the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16.

52. A core network device, comprising: A transceiver, a processor and a memory, the memory being used to store a computer program, the transceiver being used to communicate with other devices, and the processor being used to call and run the computer program stored in the memory so that the core network device executes the method as described in any one of claims 17 to 25.

53. A chip comprising: A processor, configured to call and run a computer program from a memory, so that a device equipped with the chip executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16 or claims 17 to 25.

54. A computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program, which, when executed by a device, causes the device to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16 or claims 17 to 25.

55. A computer program product comprising computer program instructions for causing a computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 16 or claims 17 to 25.

56. A computer program causing a computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 16 or claims 17 to 25.

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