Wireless communication method, terminal device, and network device

Abstract

The embodiments of the present application provide a wireless communication method, a terminal device, and a network device, the method including: a terminal device obtaining indication information, the indication information being used to indicate information of a demand slice; and a terminal device determining whether to perform cell reselection or trigger a connection establishment process in a serving cell of the terminal device based on the information of the demand slice, thereby configuring a slice currently configured by the terminal device and proposing a processing method for the terminal device when the terminal device obtains the information of the demand slice.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] TECHNICAL FIELD Embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communications, and in particular to a wireless communication method, a terminal device, and a network device. [Background technology]

[0002] The demands for wireless communication in vertical industries are clear, and to meet the demands of the vertical industries for latency, mobility, reliability, location accuracy, etc., the Radio Access Network (RAN) needs to enhance how it supports vertical businesses in the access network. One way is to provide lower latency, more targeted, more flexible, and more scalable services for multiple services with different demands through slicing or network slicing.

[0003] When a terminal device is currently configuring a slice and acquires information about a demand slice, how the terminal device should process the request is a technical issue that must be resolved as soon as possible in this application. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The embodiments of the present application provide a wireless communication method, a terminal device, and a network device, and therefore a processing method for a terminal device when the terminal device currently configures a slice and acquires information of a demand slice.

[0005] A first aspect provides a wireless communication method, the method including: a terminal device obtaining indication information, the indication information being used to indicate information of a demand slice; and the terminal device determining, based on the information of the demand slice, whether to perform cell reselection or trigger a connection establishment process with a serving cell of the terminal device.

[0006] A second aspect provides a wireless communication method, the method including: a terminal device obtaining indication information, the indication information being used to indicate information of a demand slice; and the terminal device transmitting the indication information to a network device.

[0007] A third aspect provides a wireless communication method, the method including: a network device receiving indication information, the indication information being used to indicate information of a demand slice; and the network device determining and / or transmitting, based on the information of the demand slice, at least one of: a first indication of whether a serving cell of the terminal device supports the demand slice; a DC configuration corresponding to the demand slice; a CA configuration corresponding to the demand slice; a second indication that the terminal device needs to perform cell switch; and a third indication that the terminal device needs to perform cell redirection.

[0008] A fourth aspect provides a terminal device for performing the method of the first aspect or each embodiment thereof.

[0009] Specifically, the terminal device includes a functional module for performing the method in the first aspect or each embodiment thereof.

[0010] A fifth aspect provides a terminal device for performing the method of the second aspect or each embodiment thereof.

[0011] Specifically, the terminal device includes a functional module for performing the method in the second aspect or each embodiment thereof.

[0012] A sixth aspect provides a network device for performing the method of the third aspect or each embodiment thereof.

[0013] Specifically, the network device includes a functional module for performing the method in the third aspect or each embodiment thereof.

[0014] A seventh aspect provides a terminal device including a processor and a memory, the memory storing a computer program, the processor calling and executing the computer program stored in the memory to perform the method of the first aspect or each embodiment thereof.

[0015] An eighth aspect provides a terminal device including a processor and a memory, the memory storing a computer program, and the processor calling and executing the computer program stored in the memory to perform the method of the second aspect or each embodiment thereof.

[0016] A ninth aspect provides a network device including a processor and a memory, the memory storing a computer program, and the processor calling and executing the computer program stored in the memory to perform the method of the third aspect or each embodiment thereof.

[0017] In a tenth aspect, there is provided an apparatus for implementing the method of any one of the first to third aspects or each embodiment thereof.

[0018] Specifically, the apparatus includes a processor that calls up and executes a computer program from memory, causing a device in which the apparatus is installed to execute the method of any of the first to third aspects or each embodiment thereof.

[0019] An eleventh aspect provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program causing a computer to perform the method in any one or more embodiments of the first to third aspects above.

[0020] In a twelfth aspect, there is provided a computer program product comprising computer program instructions to cause a computer to carry out a method according to any one or more embodiments of the first to third aspects above.

[0021] In a thirteenth aspect, there is provided a computer program which, when running on a computer, causes the computer to carry out the method of any one or more embodiments of the first to third aspects above.

[0022] According to any one of the first to third aspects, there is provided a processing method for a terminal device when the terminal device currently configures a slice and acquires information about a demand slice. The terminal device can perform cell reselection based on the information about the demand slice, or can determine whether to trigger a connection establishment process in the serving cell of the terminal device, thereby ensuring service transmission or cell residency corresponding to the demand slice. Alternatively, the network device can determine and / or transmit, based on the information about the demand slice indicated by the indication information, at least one of: a first indication of whether the serving cell of the terminal device supports the demand slice; a DC configuration corresponding to the demand slice; an instruction to activate or deactivate a DC corresponding to the demand slice; a CA configuration corresponding to the demand slice; an instruction to activate or deactivate a CA corresponding to the demand slice; a second instruction that the terminal device needs to perform cell switching; and a third instruction that the terminal device needs to perform cell redirection. This can ensure service transmission corresponding to the demand slice. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0023] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system architecture in an embodiment of the present application; [Figure 2] 1 is a flowchart of a wireless communication method according to an embodiment of the present application; [Figure 3] 10 is a flowchart of a sequence of a wireless communication method according to another embodiment of the present application. [Figure 4] 4 is a block diagram of a terminal device 400 according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 5] 5 is a block diagram of a terminal device 500 according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 6] 6 is a block diagram of a network device 600 according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 7] 7 is a block diagram of a communication device 700 according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] 1 is a block diagram of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 9] 9 is a block diagram of a communication system 900 according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0024] The technical aspects of the embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the drawings of the embodiments of the present application, but it is clear that the described embodiments are not all of the embodiments but only some of the embodiments of the present application. All other embodiments that a person skilled in the art can obtain without performing creative work in relation to the embodiments of the present application fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0025] The embodiments of the present application may be applied to various communication systems, such as a Global System of Mobile Communication (GSM) system, a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system, a Wideband Code (Wideband Coding) system, a Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) system, a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) system, a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, an Advanced Long Term Evolution (LTE-A) system, a New Radio (NR) system, an evolution of an NR system, an LTE-based access to unlicensed spectrum (LTE-U) system, an NR-based access to unlicensed spectrum (NR-U) system, a Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), a Wireless Fidelity (WiFi), a Next Generation (5G) system, or other communication systems.

[0026] Generally, conventional communication systems support a limited number of connections and are easy to implement. However, with the evolution of communication technology, mobile communication systems support not only conventional communication but also, for example, D2D (Device to Device) communication, M2M (Machine to Machine) communication, MTC (Machine Type Communication), V2V (Vehicle to Vehicle) communication, and the like, which can also be used in the embodiments of the present application.

[0027] Optionally, the communication system in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to a Carrier Aggregation (CA) scenario, a Dual Connectivity (DC) scenario, or a Standalone (SA) deployment scenario.

[0028] The embodiments of the present application are not limited to the spectrum to which they are applied, for example, they may be applied to licensed spectrum or unlicensed spectrum.

[0029] Illustratively, a communication system 100 to which an embodiment of the present application is applied is shown in Figure 1. The communication system 100 may include a network device 110, which may be a device that communicates with terminal devices 120 (or communication terminals, terminals). The network device 110 may provide a communication overlay for a particular geographic area and may communicate with terminal devices located within the overlay area.

[0030] FIG. 1 illustrates one network device and two terminal devices, and optionally, the communication system 100 may include multiple network devices and other numbers of terminal devices within the coverage range of each network device, and embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

[0031] Optionally, the communication system 100 may also include other network entities such as a network controller, a mobility management entity, etc., and embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

[0032] In addition, a device having a communication function in a network / system in an embodiment of the present application can be called a communication device. Taking the communication system 100 shown in FIG. 1 as an example, the communication device can include a network device 110 and a terminal device 120 having a communication function. The network device 110 and the terminal device 120 may be the above-mentioned devices, but the description thereof will be omitted here. The communication device can also include other devices in the communication system 100, such as a network controller, a mobility management entity, etc., and is not limited thereto in the embodiment of the present application.

[0033] It should be understood that the terms "system" and "network" are often used interchangeably herein. As used herein, "and / or" simply indicates a relationship between related things, such as A and / or B, indicating that three relationships exist: A alone, A and B, or B alone. Additionally, the character " / " in this document generally indicates an "or" relationship between the related objects before and after it.

[0034] The present application describes various embodiments combining a terminal device and a network device, where the terminal device may also be referred to as a user equipment (UE), access terminal, user element, user station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent, or user equipment. The terminal device may be a station (ST) in a WLAN, such as a mobile phone, cordless phone, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) device, handheld device with wireless communication capabilities, computing device, or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, in-vehicle device, wearable device, and a terminal device in a next-generation communication system, such as an NR network or a future Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) network.

[0035] By way of example and not limitation, in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device may be a wearable device. A wearable device, also known as a wearable smart device, is a general term for devices that apply wearable technology to everyday clothing such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothes, and shoes and are intelligently designed and developed for wear. A wearable device is a mobile terminal that is worn directly on the body or integrated into the user's clothing or accessories. A wearable device is not simply a hardware device; it realizes its functions not only through software support but also through data interaction and cloud-based interaction. Roughly speaking, wearable smart devices include large, full-featured devices such as smartwatches and smart glasses that do not rely on smartphones for all or part of their functions, and smart bracelets and smart jewelry that are specialized for specific purposes, such as various body monitoring, and require use in conjunction with other devices such as smartphones.

[0036] In an embodiment of the present application, the network device is a device that communicates with a mobile device, and 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 LTE, a relay station or an access point, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device, and a network device (gNB) in an NR network, or a network device in a future evolved PLMN network, etc.

[0037] In an embodiment of the present application, a network device can provide a service to a cell, and a terminal device can communicate with the network device via transmission resources (e.g., frequency domain resources or spectrum resources) used by the cell. The cell may be a cell corresponding to a network device (e.g., a base station), and the cell may belong to a macro base station or a base station corresponding to a small cell. The small cell here may include a metro cell, a micro cell, a pico cell, a femto cell, etc. These small cells are characterized by small coverage areas and low transmission power, and are suitable for providing high-rate data transmission services.

[0038] Before describing the technical solution of the present application, cell reselection and paging will be explained.

[0039] (1) Cell reselection: In the process of performing cell selection and reselection in a non-connected state (i.e., an idle state or an inactive state), the terminal device defines a cell reselection strategy based on frequency priority to satisfy load equalization in the idle state.

[0040] Cell reselection refers to the process by which a terminal device selects the best cell to provide a serving signal by monitoring the signal quality of neighboring cells and the current serving cell in a disconnected state. If the signal quality and level of the neighboring cell meet the S criteria and the reselection criteria, the terminal device accesses and resides in the cell.

[0041] After the terminal device successfully resides in the resident cell, it continues to measure the cell. The terminal device calculates Srxlev (i.e., S criterion) based on the Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurement result in the Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer, and compares it with Sintrasearch (i.e., the same-frequency measurement start threshold) and Snonintrasearch (i.e., the different-frequency / different-system measurement start threshold) as a criterion for determining whether to start measuring neighboring cells.

[0042] For cell reselection on the same frequency or different frequencies with the same frequency priority, the R criterion is used to perform cell reselection, i.e., sorting based on the signal quality of the cells, and selecting the cell with the best signal quality as the candidate cell for reselection. For cells with high frequency priority, the cell with high frequency priority will be reselected as long as the signal quality of the cell meets a certain threshold, and for cells with low frequency priority, the cell will be reselected only if the signal quality of the serving cell is below a certain threshold.

[0043] (2) Paging: Paging is initiated by a network device to a terminal device in an idle state, an inactive state, or a connected state. Paging is divided into an initial paging message of a core network (CN) and an initial paging message of a RAN.

[0044] CN initial paging: Starts paging within the registered Tracking Area (TA) list. Notifies the terminal device of the receipt of a paging message. RAN Initial Paging: Initiates a paging message within the RAN range. Notifies the terminal device to receive the paging message.

[0045] Network device triggers paging: Initiates paging within cell range to notify of system message updates and to notify terminal devices to receive information such as Earthquake and Tsunami Warning System (ETWS), etc. Downlink Control Information (DCI) includes this system message change indication and Public Warning System (PWS) notification indication.

[0046] Here, paging messages are carried on the Paging Control Channel (PCH), Paging Channel (PDSCH), and Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), and transmission is scheduled via the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH). The Paging-Wireless Network Temporary Identifier (P-RNTI) is fixed to a value of FFFE to scramble the DCI of the paging message. If there is paging, the network device issues a PDCCH grant on the PDCCH at the calculated paging timing. When the terminal device overhears the P-RNTI at the paging timing, it receives the paging message on the specified time-frequency resource.

[0047] In this application, the idle state is also described as an RRC idle state (RRC_IDLE), the inactive state is also described as an RRC inactive state (RRC_INACTIVE), and the connected state is also described as an RRC connected state (RRC_CONNECTED).

[0048] The paging message includes the following:

[0049] Identifier of the terminal device to be paged: When initially paging the CN, this identifier is the Serving-Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (s-TMSI), and when initially paging the RAN, this identifier is the System Information-Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (SI-RNTI). The International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) / Subscription Permanent Identifier (SUPI) / Subscription Concealed Identifier (SUCI) are not supported for use in paging terminal devices. Up to 32 terminal devices can be paged simultaneously.

[0050] Access type that triggers paging: 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) or non-3GPP, where an indication of the access network technology to which a packet data unit (PDU) session belongs needs to be passed to upper layers.

[0051] For different RRC states, there are different needs for receiving paging messages. JPEG0007731975000001.jpg232170 A terminal device receives paging messages at its own paging timing in the RRC_IDLE and RRC_INACTIVE states. The terminal device does not need to constantly monitor the PDCCH; it only needs to monitor it at the paging timing, achieving the goal of power saving on the terminal device side. The calculation of paging timing is based on DRX, and the size of the DRX determines the balance between power saving and access delay for the terminal device. There are three DRXs for the terminal device to calculate paging timing.

[0052] Cell default DRX cycle: Cell-level DRX broadcast by the cell system.

[0053] UE specific DRX: DRX determined by the terminal device and sent to the CN side via Non-Access Stratrum (NAS) messages, with paging sent on the CN side to the network device.

[0054] RAN DRX: When the network side decides to put the terminal device into a deactivated state, it configures the terminal device via an RRC Release message.

[0055] The terminal device and network side select DRX using the minimum principle to calculate paging timing. For RRC_IDLE UE, the minimum DRX is used among the cell default DRX cycle and UE specific DRX. For RRC_INACTIVE UE, the minimum DRX is used among the cell default DRX cycle, UE specific DRX, and RAN DRX.

[0056] The technical solution of the present application will be described in detail below.

[0057] FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a wireless communication method in an embodiment of the present application, which includes the following steps:

[0058] In step S210, the terminal device obtains indication information, and the indication information is used to indicate information of the demand slice.

[0059] In step S220, the terminal device determines whether to perform cell reselection or trigger a connection establishment process with the serving cell of the terminal device based on the information of the demand slice.

[0060] Optionally, this embodiment can be applied to, but is not limited to, a scenario in which a terminal device is in a disconnected state, where, when the terminal device is in a disconnected state, the network device can broadcast information of slices supported by the network device through a system message.

[0061] Optionally, the information of the slices supported by the network device includes, but is not limited to, at least one of an identifier of the slices supported by the network device, a priority of the slices, frequency point information corresponding to the slices, and cell information corresponding to the slices.

[0062] Optionally, the slice supported by the network device may be a slice supported by a cell covered by the network device, or may not be a slice supported by other cells other than the cell covered by the network device.

[0063] Optionally, the network device may configure a slice for the terminal device based on information of supported slices, where the configured slice may be any of the slices supported by the network device.

[0064] It should be noted that the above-mentioned configuration slices may also be described as currently configured slices, currently serving slices, currently established slices, or currently allowed slices.

[0065] Optionally, the terminal device may select and reside in a cell corresponding to a slice of the configuration described above.

[0066] The information on the demand slice may also be described as information on a demand slice, information on a demand slice of the terminal device, or information on a demand slice of the terminal device, but the present application is not limited thereto.

[0067] Optionally, the information of the demand slice includes, but is not limited to, at least one of an identifier of the demand slice, a priority of the demand slice, frequency point information corresponding to the demand slice, and cell information corresponding to the demand slice.

[0068] Optionally, the identifier of the demand slice may be Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (S-NSSAI) or Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (NSSAI), although the application is not limited thereto.

[0069] Note that slices correspond one-to-one to cells, and therefore frequency point information corresponding to a demand slice is also referred to as frequency point information of a cell corresponding to the demand slice.

[0070] Optionally, the frequency point information includes, but is not limited to, a frequency point identifier and / or a frequency point priority.

[0071] Optionally, the cell information corresponding to the demand slice includes, but is not limited to, an identifier of the cell corresponding to the demand slice, a priority of the cell, frequency point information of the cell, and bandwidth information of the cell.

[0072] Optionally, when the terminal device is in a non-connected state, the terminal device can obtain the indication information as follows, but not limited to:

[0073] 1. The indication information is generated in the non-access stratum (NAS) of the terminal device and sent to the access stratum (AS) of the terminal device.

[0074] 2. The indication information is sent by the core network device to the terminal device via a NAS message.

[0075] 3. The indication information is sent from the network device to the terminal device, for example, the indication information is carried in a paging message.

[0076] Optionally, when the core network device transmits or receives paging data, it can send a paging message to the network device, and the network device can further send the paging message to the terminal device.

[0077] Optionally, the core network device may be, but is not limited to, an Access and Mobility Management Entity (AMF).

[0078] Optionally, the indication information is sent in a service request process, a PDU session establishment request process, a paging process, or a PDU session modification request process, or the indication information is sent when a service arrives.

[0079] Optionally, the service may be a paging service or other data service, etc., and the present application is not limited thereto.

[0080] Optionally, when the indication information is sent from the NAS of the terminal device to the AS, the NAS of the terminal device may send the indication information to the AS in any case, or may send the indication information if certain conditions are met.

[0081] Optionally, when the indication information is sent by the core network device to the terminal device via a NAS message, the core network device may send the indication information to the terminal device in any case, or may send the indication information when certain conditions are met.

[0082] Optionally, when the indication information is transmitted from the network device to the terminal device, the access network device may transmit the indication information to the terminal device in any case, or may transmit the indication information when certain conditions are met.

[0083] Optionally, the condition may be that the priority of the demand slice is higher than the priority of the current configuration, service, or established slice of the terminal device, or in the case of the above condition, the priority of the demand slice is not lower than the priority of the current configuration, service, or established slice of the terminal device.

[0084] Optionally, the indication information can be carried in the reason value.

[0085] Optionally, the cause value is one of, but not limited to, an RRC establishment cause, an RRC reestablishment cause, or a cell reselection cause.

[0086] In addition, the demand slice information can be obtained by instruction information, and the demand slice information may also be information that a network device has pre-configured on a terminal device, and the present application is not limited to this.

[0087] Optionally, as described above, the terminal device can select and reside in a cell corresponding to a slice of the above-described configuration. After the terminal device obtains the information of the demand slice, if the terminal device is not performing a cell reselection process, it can directly perform cell reselection. If the terminal device is performing a cell reselection process, the terminal device will abort the current cell reselection process, and further, the terminal device will perform cell reselection based on the information of the demand slice.

[0088] Optionally, when the indication information is sent from the NAS of the terminal device to the AS, the NAS of the terminal device may perform cell reselection based on the information of the terminal device demand slice when the NAS of the terminal device only updates the information of the demand slice via the indication information, and not for triggering service transmission or PDU session establishment.

[0089] Optionally, if the indication information is sent from the NAS of the terminal device to the AS, when the NAS of the terminal device is to trigger service transmission or PDU session establishment through the indication information, the terminal device can trigger a connection establishment process in the reselected cell after performing cell reselection based on the information of the demand slice.

[0090] Optionally, when the indication information is sent from the core network device to the terminal device via the NAS or from the core network device to the terminal device, the terminal device can trigger a connection establishment process in the reselected cell after performing cell reselection based on the information of the demand slice.

[0091] Optionally, when the indication information is sent from the network device to the terminal device, the terminal device can establish a connection establishment process in the reselected cell after performing cell reselection based on the information of the demand slice.

[0092] Optionally, the above connection establishment process includes, but is not limited to, an RRC connection establishment process, a PDU conversation establishment process.

[0093] Optionally, if the terminal device determines, based on the information of the demand slice, that the cell corresponding to the demand slice is a serving cell, the terminal device decides to trigger a connection establishment process with the serving cell of the terminal device.If the terminal device determines, based on the information of the demand slice, that the cell corresponding to the demand slice is not a serving cell, the terminal device decides not to trigger a connection establishment process with the serving cell of the terminal device.If the terminal device determines, based on the information of the demand slice, that the cell corresponding to the demand slice is not a serving cell, the terminal device decides to trigger a connection establishment process with the serving cell of the terminal device, but supports only emergency service transmission.

[0094] Optionally, after the terminal device obtains the information of the demand slice, it directly performs cell reselection or determines whether to trigger a connection establishment process in the serving cell of the terminal device based on the information of the demand slice, or after the terminal device obtains the information of the demand slice, it performs cell reselection or determines whether to trigger a connection establishment process in the serving cell of the terminal device if the terminal device satisfies the following conditions:

[0095] Optionally, the above conditions include, but are not limited to, the terminal device's serving cell or the frequency point of the serving cell not simultaneously supporting the terminal device's current service and the service corresponding to the demand slice, and / or the priority of the service corresponding to the demand slice is higher than the priority of the current service, and / or the priority of the demand slice is not lower than the priority of the terminal device's current configuration, service or established slice.

[0096] As described above, this application proposes a processing method for a terminal device in an unconnected state when the terminal device currently configures a slice and acquires information about a demand slice, that is, the terminal device can perform cell reselection based on the information about the demand slice or determine whether to trigger a connection establishment process in the serving cell of the terminal device. Furthermore, this application proposes a processing method for a terminal device in an unconnected state when the terminal device currently configures a slice and acquires information about a demand slice, that is, the terminal device can perform cell reselection based on the information about the demand slice or determine whether to trigger a connection establishment process in the serving cell of the terminal device, and thus can ensure service transmission or cell residency corresponding to the demand slice.

[0097] FIG. 3 is a sequence flowchart of a wireless communication method in another embodiment of the present application, which includes the following steps:

[0098] In step S310, the terminal device obtains indication information, and the indication information is used to indicate information of the demand slice.

[0099] In step S320, the terminal device sends indication information to the network device.

[0100] In step S330, based on the information of the demand slice, the network device determines and / or transmits at least one of: a first indication of whether the serving cell of the terminal device supports the demand slice; a dual connectivity (DC) configuration corresponding to the demand slice; an activation or deactivation instruction of the DC corresponding to the demand slice; a carrier aggregation (CA) configuration corresponding to the demand slice; an activation or deactivation instruction of the CA corresponding to the demand slice; a second indication that the terminal device needs to perform cell switching; and a third indication that the terminal device needs to perform cell redirection.

[0101] Optionally, this embodiment applies to, but is not limited to, a scenario in which a terminal device is in a connected state, a new uplink (UL) service requirement is triggered, or a new UL service arrives, or a new downlink (DL) service requirement is triggered, or a new DL service arrives. In this scenario, a new PDU session can be established to support demand slicing. The network device can also configure a data radio bearer (DRB) for the terminal device via an RRC reconfiguration message.

[0102] Here, a network device can broadcast information about the slices that the network device supports via a system message.

[0103] Regarding the information on slices supported by the network device, the information on slices configured by the network device for the terminal device and the information on demand slices, please refer to the embodiment corresponding to Figure 2, and the present application will omit the description here.

[0104] Optionally, the terminal device can select and reside in a cell corresponding to a slice configured for it by the network device, and can then establish a connection in the cell and perform service transmission.

[0105] Optionally, the terminal device can obtain the indication information as follows, but not limited to: the indication information is generated by the NAS of the terminal device and sent to the AS of the terminal device; or the indication information is sent from the core network device to the terminal device through an NAS message.

[0106] Optionally, the core network device may be an AMF or other core network device, and the present application is not limited thereto.

[0107] Optionally, the indication information is sent in a service request process, a PDU session establishment request process, a paging process, or a PDU session modification request process, or the indication information is sent upon arrival of a service.

[0108] Optionally, the service may be a paging service or other data service, etc., and the present application is not limited thereto.

[0109] Optionally, when the indication information is sent from the NAS of the terminal device to the AS, the NAS of the terminal device may send the indication information to the AS in any case, or may send the indication information if certain conditions are met.

[0110] Optionally, when the indication information is sent from the core network device to the terminal device via a NAS message, the core network device may send the indication information to the terminal device in any case, or may send the indication information when certain conditions are met.

[0111] Optionally, the condition may be that the priority of the demand slice is higher than the priority of the current configuration, service, or established slice of the terminal device, or in the case of the above condition, the priority of the demand slice is not lower than the priority of the current configuration, service, or established slice of the terminal device.

[0112] Optionally, the indication information can be carried in the reason value.

[0113] Optionally, the cause value is one of, but not limited to, an RRC establishment cause, an RRC reestablishment cause, or a cell reselection cause.

[0114] Optionally, the terminal device may send the indication information to the network device via a dedicated message.

[0115] Optionally, the dedicated message is an RRC message, a Media Access Control Element (MAC CE), or an Uplink Control Information (UCI).

[0116] Optionally, the terminal device may send the above indication information to the network device in any case, and may send the indication information when certain conditions are met.

[0117] Optionally, the above conditions include, but are not limited to, the terminal device's serving cell or the frequency point of the serving cell not simultaneously supporting the terminal device's current service and the service corresponding to the demand slice, and / or the priority of the service corresponding to the demand slice is higher than the priority of the current service, and / or the priority of the demand slice is not lower than the priority of the terminal device's current configuration, service or established slice.

[0118] In addition, the demand slice information can be obtained by instruction information, and the demand slice information may also be pre-configured in the terminal device by the network device, and this application is not limited to this.

[0119] In addition, the network device may obtain the indication information from an application server in addition to obtaining the indication information from the terminal device, where the application server may directly send the indication information to the network device, or the application server may send the indication information to the terminal device, and the application layer of the terminal device may then send the indication information to the network device. In short, the present application does not limit how the network device obtains the indication information.

[0120] Optionally, the instruction information further includes first information, where the first information is used to request at least one of performing a cell switch, establishing a CA, establishing a DC, and performing a cell redirection.

[0121] It should be noted that the instruction information may not include the first information, that is, the terminal device does not need to send the at least one request to the network device.

[0122] Optionally, the network device may determine and / or transmit a first indication of whether the serving cell of the terminal device supports demand slicing based on the information of the serving cell of the terminal device and the information of the demand slice.

[0123] For example, if the frequency point supported by the serving cell of the terminal device is A and the frequency point supported by the demand slice is B, A and B are different, indicating that the serving cell of the terminal device does not support the demand slice. In this case, the network device may determine and / or transmit the first indication described above.

[0124] Optionally, if the first indication indicates that the serving cell of the terminal device supports demand slicing, the terminal device performs demand slice service transmission in the serving cell. Conversely, if the network device determines that the serving cell of the terminal device does not support demand slicing, the network device can determine whether it needs to support demand slicing based on the demand slice information. For example, the network device may support the above-mentioned demand slicing and realize the demand slice service transmission using at least one of CA, DC, cell switching, and cell redirection.

[0125] Optionally, a network device may determine whether it needs to support demand slicing, but is not limited to this, as follows:

[0126] 1. The network device determines whether it needs to support the demand slice based on the priority of the demand slice and the priority of the currently configured slice of the terminal device; or 2. The network device determines whether it needs to support the demand slice based on the priority of the frequency point of the demand slice and the priority of the frequency point of the currently configured slice of the terminal device.

[0127] 3. If an in-service slice exists and in-service slice and demand slice cannot be supported simultaneously, determine whether demand slice needs to be supported.

[0128] Explaining 1 above.

[0129] Optionally, determine that the network device needs to support the demand slice if the priority of the demand slice is higher than the priority of the currently configured slice, determine that the network device does not need to support the demand slice if the priority of the demand slice is equal to or lower than the priority of the currently configured slice, or determine that the network device needs to support the demand slice if the priority of the demand slice is equal to or higher than the priority of the currently configured slice, or determine that the network device does not need to support the demand slice if the priority of the demand slice is lower than the priority of the currently configured slice.

[0130] Let us explain the above point 2.

[0131] Optionally, if the priority of the frequency points of the demand slice is higher than the priority of the frequency points of the currently configured slice, determine that the network device needs to support the demand slice; if the priority of the frequency points of the demand slice is equal to or lower than the priority of the frequency points of the currently configured slice, determine that the network device does not need to support the demand slice; or if the priority of the frequency points of the demand slice is equal to or higher than the priority of the frequency points of the currently configured slice, determine that the network device needs to support the demand slice; if the priority of the frequency points of the demand slice is lower than the priority of the frequency points of the currently configured slice, determine that the network device does not need to support the demand slice.

[0132] Explain the above 3.

[0133] If an in-service slice exists and the in-service slice and the demand slice cannot be supported simultaneously, it is determined that the demand slice needs to be supported or that the demand slice does not need to be supported.

[0134] Optionally, if the network device determines that it is necessary to support a demand slice, the network device may determine, based on information about the demand slice and information about slices supported by the serving cell, at least one of a DC configuration corresponding to the demand slice, an activation or deactivation instruction for a DC corresponding to the demand slice, a CA configuration, an activation or deactivation instruction for a CA corresponding to the demand slice, execution of a cell switch, and execution of a cell switch.

[0135] The information on the slices supported by the serving cell is also referred to as information on the slices supported by the network device. For the information on the slices supported by the network device, refer to the above embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted here.

[0136] Hereinafter, it will be described that the network device determines at least one of the DC configuration corresponding to the demand slice, the activation or deactivation instruction of the DC corresponding to the demand slice, the CA configuration, the activation or deactivation instruction of the CA corresponding to the demand slice, the execution of cell switching, and the execution of cell switching based on the information of the demand slice and the information of the slice supported by the serving cell.

[0137] Example 1: If the frequency point supported by the serving cell of the terminal device is A and the frequency point supported by the demand slice is B, the network device can adopt DC or CA technology in the serving cell and other cells, so that the frequency point corresponding to the terminal device can be B, and thus demand slice service transmission can be realized.

[0138] Example 2: When the frequency point supported by the serving cell of the terminal device is A and the frequency point supported by the demand slice is B, if the network device determines that the frequency point supported by another cell is B, it instructs the terminal device to switch to that cell, so that the corresponding frequency point of the terminal device can be B, thereby realizing the service transmission of the demand slice. Optionally, the terminal device can send capability indication information to the network device, where the capability indication information comprises: 1. Whether the terminal device supports CA; 2. Whether the terminal device supports DC; 3. The frequency points supported by the terminal device; 4. The bandwidth supported by the terminal device; 5. The combination or list of bandwidths supported by the terminal device; 6. A combination or list of frequency points corresponding to the supported slices; 7. Bandwidth combinations or lists corresponding to supported slices; 8, indicates at least one of the combinations or lists of carriers corresponding to the supported slices.

[0139] Here, list 5 is a list of bandwidth combinations supported by the terminal device. List 6 is a list of frequency point combinations corresponding to slices supported by the terminal device. List 7 is a list of bandwidth combinations corresponding to slices supported by the terminal device. List 8 is a list of carrier combinations corresponding to slices supported by the terminal device.

[0140] Optionally, if the terminal device has sent capability indication information to the network device, in step S330, the network device may determine and / or send at least one of a DC configuration corresponding to the demand slice, an activation or deactivation instruction for a DC corresponding to the demand slice, a CA configuration corresponding to the demand slice, an activation or deactivation instruction for a CA corresponding to the demand slice, a second instruction that the terminal device needs to perform cell switching, and a third instruction that the terminal device needs to perform cell redirection based on the information of the demand slice, the slice information supported by the serving cell, and the capability indication information of the terminal device.

[0141] For example, if the frequency point supported by the serving cell of the terminal device is A and the frequency point supported by demand slicing is B, but the terminal device does not support CA technology and DC technology but supports cell switching technology, when the network device determines that the frequency point supported by another cell is B, it instructs the terminal device to switch to the cell, so that the frequency point to which the terminal device corresponds is B, and thus demand slicing service transmission can be realized.

[0142] Optionally, when the network device transmits to the terminal device a DC configuration and / or a CA configuration corresponding to the demand slice and / or an activation or deactivation instruction of the DC and / or CA corresponding to the demand slice, the terminal device performs service transmission of the demand slice based on the DC configuration and / or the CA configuration and / or the activation or deactivation instruction of the DC and / or CA corresponding to the demand slice.

[0143] Optionally, for demand slice service transmission, if at least one cell among the DC configuration and / or CA configuration and / or cells determined in the DC and / or CA activation or deactivation instruction corresponding to the demand slice supports demand slicing, the terminal device performs demand slice service transmission in one cell among the at least one cell.

[0144] Optionally, for the demand slice service transmission and the current service transmission, if at least one cell among the DC configuration and / or the CA configuration and / or the cells determined by the DC and / or CA activation or deactivation instruction corresponding to the demand slice supports the demand slice and the terminal device current service, the terminal device simultaneously transmits the demand slice service and the current service in one cell of the at least one cell. For example, the demand slice service transmission and the current service transmission are both performed in cell 1. Alternatively, if at least one cell among the DC configuration and / or the CA configuration supports the demand slice and the terminal device current service, the terminal device transmits the demand slice service and the current service in at least two cells of the at least one cell, respectively. For example, the demand slice service transmission is performed in cell 1 and the current service transmission is performed in cell 2.

[0145] In addition, when a cell corresponding to a demand slice is in an inactive state, the terminal device can perform at least one of activating the cell, performing timing advance (TA) synchronization, and instructing a network device that this cell needs to be activated.

[0146] Optionally, when the network device sends a second instruction corresponding to the demand slice to the terminal device, the terminal device performs cell switching and / or service transmission of the demand slice based on the second instruction.

[0147] Optionally, when the network device sends a third instruction corresponding to the demand slice to the terminal device, the terminal device performs cell redirection and / or service transmission of the demand slice based on the third instruction.

[0148] Optionally, the network device can determine and / or transmit at least one of a first indication of whether a serving cell of the terminal device supports demand slicing, a DC configuration corresponding to the demand slice, a CA configuration corresponding to the demand slice, an indication of CA activation or deactivation corresponding to the demand slice, an indication of DC activation or deactivation corresponding to the demand slice, a second indication that the terminal device needs to perform cell switch, and a third indication that the terminal device needs to perform cell redirection in any case. Alternatively, the network device can determine and / or transmit at least one of a first indication of whether a serving cell of the terminal device supports demand slicing, a DC configuration corresponding to the demand slice, a CA configuration corresponding to the demand slice, an indication of CA activation or deactivation corresponding to the demand slice, an indication of DC activation or deactivation corresponding to the demand slice, a second indication that the terminal device needs to perform cell switch, and a third indication that the terminal device needs to perform cell redirection when a certain condition is satisfied.

[0149] Optionally, the above condition may be that the serving cell of the terminal device or the frequency point of the serving cell does not simultaneously support the current service of the terminal device and the service corresponding to the demand slice, and / or the priority of the service corresponding to the demand slice is higher than the priority of the current service, and / or the priority of the demand slice is not lower than the priority of the terminal device's current configuration, service or established slice.

[0150] In the present application, the network device may determine and / or transmit at least one of a first indication of whether a serving cell of the terminal device supports demand slicing, a DC configuration corresponding to the demand slice, a CA configuration corresponding to the demand slice, an instruction to activate or deactivate CA corresponding to the demand slice, an instruction to activate or deactivate DC corresponding to the demand slice, a second instruction that the terminal device needs to perform cell switch, and a third instruction that the terminal device needs to perform cell redirection. These may be performed independently, i.e., separately. For example, the network device does not need to determine whether a serving cell of the terminal device supports demand slicing and determine the DC configuration corresponding to the demand slice, the CA configuration, the execution of cell switch, or cell redirection. Also, for example, the network device does not need to determine whether to provide DC and / or CA configuration to the terminal device, and if it determines not to provide DC and / or CA configuration, it determines whether to perform cell redirection or cell switch.

[0151]

[0009] Based on the above, the present application proposes a processing method for a terminal device that enables the terminal device to transmit instruction information to a network device when a connected terminal device currently configures a slice and acquires information about a demand slice. Furthermore, based on the information about the demand slice indicated by the instruction information, the network device can determine and / or transmit at least one of: a first instruction indicating whether a serving cell of the terminal device supports a demand slice; a DC configuration corresponding to the demand slice; a CA configuration corresponding to the demand slice; an instruction to activate or deactivate CA corresponding to the demand slice; an instruction to activate or deactivate DC corresponding to the demand slice; a second instruction indicating that the terminal device needs to perform cell switching; and a third instruction indicating that the terminal device needs to perform cell redirection. Furthermore, the network device can ensure the transmission of a service corresponding to the demand slice.

[0152] The above describes in detail an embodiment of the method of the present application with reference to Figures 2 to 3, and the following describes in detail an embodiment of the apparatus of the present application with reference to Figures 4 to 9. It should be understood that the embodiment of the apparatus and the embodiment of the method correspond to each other, and similar descriptions can be referred to the embodiment of the method.

[0153] 4 is a block diagram of a terminal device 400 according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 4, the terminal device 400 includes a processing unit 410, which obtains indication information, the indication information being used to indicate information of a demand slice, and determines whether to perform cell reselection or trigger a connection establishment process in a serving cell of the terminal device according to the information of the demand slice.

[0154] Optionally, the indication information is generated by a NAS of the terminal device and sent to an AS of the terminal device; or The indication information is sent by the core network device to the terminal device via a NAS message; or The instruction information is transmitted from the network device to the terminal device.

[0155] Optionally, the indication information is carried in a paging message.

[0156] Optionally, the indication information is sent when the priority of the demand slice is higher than the priority of the terminal device current configuration, service or established slice.

[0157] Optionally, the indication information is sent in a service request process, a PDU session establishment request process, a paging process, or a PDU session adjustment request process, or the indication information is sent upon arrival of a service.

[0158] Optionally, the indication information is carried in the reason value.

[0159] Optionally, the cause value is one of an RRC establishment reason, an RRC re-establishment reason, or a cell reselection reason.

[0160] Optionally, the terminal device is in a non-connected state.

[0161] Optionally, the processing unit 410 is further configured to abort the cell reselection process when the terminal device is performing the cell reselection process.

[0162] Optionally, the processing unit 410 is further configured to trigger a connection establishment process in the reselected cell.

[0163] Optionally, the processing unit 410 is specifically configured to perform at least one of: determining to trigger a connection establishment process in the serving cell of the terminal device when it determines, based on the information of the demand slice, that the cell corresponding to the demand slice is a serving cell; determining not to trigger a connection establishment process in the serving cell of the terminal device when it determines, based on the information of the demand slice, that the cell corresponding to the demand slice is not a serving cell; and determining to trigger a connection establishment process in the serving cell of the terminal device and to perform only emergency service transmission when the terminal device determines, based on the information of the demand slice, that the cell corresponding to the demand slice is not a serving cell.

[0164] Optionally, the processing unit 410 is specifically configured to: determine whether to perform cell reselection or trigger a connection establishment process in the serving cell of the terminal device based on information of the demand slice when the serving cell of the terminal device or the frequency point of the serving cell does not simultaneously support the current service of the terminal device and the service corresponding to the demand slice, and / or when the priority of the service corresponding to the demand slice is higher than the priority of the current service.

[0165] Optionally, the information of the demand slice includes at least one of an identifier of the demand slice, a priority of the demand slice, frequency point information corresponding to the demand slice, and cell information corresponding to the demand slice.

[0166] Optionally, the frequency point information comprises a frequency point identifier and / or a frequency point priority.

[0167] Optionally, in some embodiments, the above-mentioned communication unit may be a communication interface or transceiver, or an input / output interface of a communication chip or an on-chip system.

[0168] It should be noted that the terminal device 400 according to the embodiment of the present application may correspond to the terminal device in the corresponding method embodiment of FIG. 2, and the above-mentioned operations and / or functions of each unit in the terminal device 400 are omitted here for brevity, so as to realize the corresponding flow of the terminal device in the corresponding method embodiment of FIG. 2 described above.

[0169] 5 is a block diagram of a terminal device 500 according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 5, the terminal device 500 includes a processing unit 510 and a communication unit 520.

[0170] The processing unit 510 is configured to obtain indication information, where the indication information is used to indicate information of the demand slice.

[0171] The communication unit 520 is configured to send the instruction information to the network device.

[0172] Optionally, the indication information is generated by the NAS of the terminal device and sent to the AS of the terminal device, or the indication information is sent to the terminal device by the core network device via a NAS message.

[0173] Optionally, the indication information is sent if the priority of the demand slice is higher than the priority of the terminal device current configuration, service or established slice.

[0174] Optionally, the indication information is sent in a service request process, a PDU session establishment request process, a paging process, or a PDU session adjustment request process, or the indication information is sent upon arrival of a service. Optionally, the indication information is carried in the reason value.

[0175] Optionally, the cause value is one of an RRC establishment reason, an RRC re-establishment reason, or a cell reselection reason.

[0176] Optionally, the indication information is carried in a dedicated message.

[0177] Optionally, the dedicated message is an RRC message, a MAC CE, or a UCI.

[0178] Optionally, the instruction information further includes first information, where the first information requests at least one of: cell switching, establishing carrier aggregation CA, establishing dual connectivity DC, and performing cell redirection.

[0179] Optionally, the communication unit 520 is further configured to send capability indication information to the network device, where the capability indication information comprises: Whether the terminal device supports CA, Whether the terminal device supports DC, the frequency points supported by the terminal device, the bandwidth supported by the terminal device, A combination or list of bandwidths supported by the terminal device; A combination or list of frequency points corresponding to the supported slices; A combination or list of bandwidths corresponding to the slices supported; Indicates at least one of a combination or list of carriers corresponding to the supported slices. Optionally, the communication unit 520 further comprises: a first indication of whether a serving cell of the terminal device supports demand slicing; DC configuration for demand slicing, Activation or deactivation instructions for the DC corresponding to the demand slice; CA configuration supporting demand slicing, An instruction to activate or deactivate a CA corresponding to a demand slice; a second indication that the terminal device needs to perform a cell switch; The terminal device is configured to receive at least one of the third indications that cell redirection is required.

[0180] Optionally, the processing unit 510 is further configured to, if the first indication indicates that a serving cell of the terminal device supports demand slicing, perform service transmission of the demand slice in the serving cell.

[0181] Optionally, the processing unit 510 is further configured to perform service transmission of the demand slice based on at least one of the DC configuration, an activation or deactivation instruction of the DC corresponding to the demand slice, the CA configuration, and an activation or deactivation instruction of the CA corresponding to the demand slice.

[0182] Optionally, the processing unit 510 is specifically configured to perform service transmission of the demand slice in one cell of the at least one cell when at least one cell determined based on at least one of the DC configuration, the activation or deactivation instruction of the DC corresponding to the demand slice, the CA configuration and the activation or deactivation instruction of the CA corresponding to the demand slice supports the demand slice.

[0183] Optionally, the processing unit 510 specifically performs service transmission of the demand slice and transmission of the current service simultaneously in one cell of the at least one cell when at least one cell determined based on at least one of the DC configuration, the activation or deactivation instruction of the DC corresponding to the demand slice, the CA configuration and the activation or deactivation instruction of the CA corresponding to the demand slice supports the demand slice and the terminal device current service; or If at least one cell determined based on at least one of the DC configuration, the activation or deactivation instruction of the DC corresponding to the demand slice, and the CA configuration and the activation or deactivation instruction of the CA corresponding to the demand slice supports the demand slice and the terminal device current service, the at least one cell is configured to perform service transmission of the demand slice and transmission of the current service in at least two cells, respectively.

[0184] Optionally, the processing unit 510 is further configured to perform cell switching and / or demand slice service transmission based on the second instruction.

[0185] Optionally, the processing unit 510 is further configured to perform cell redirection and / or demand slice service transmission based on the third instruction.

[0186] Optionally, the communication unit 520 is specifically configured to send indication information to the network device when the serving cell of the terminal device or the frequency point of the serving cell does not simultaneously support the current service of the terminal device and the service corresponding to the demand slice, and / or the priority of the service corresponding to the demand slice is higher than the priority of the current service.

[0187] Optionally, the terminal device is in a connected state.

[0188] Optionally, the information of the demand slice includes at least one of an identifier of the demand slice, a priority of the demand slice, frequency point information corresponding to the demand slice, and cell information corresponding to the demand slice.

[0189] Optionally, the frequency point information comprises a frequency point identifier and / or a frequency point priority.

[0190] Optionally, in some embodiments, the above-mentioned communication unit may be a communication interface or transceiver, or an input / output interface of a communication chip or an on-chip system.

[0191] It should be noted that the terminal device 500 according to the embodiment of the present application may correspond to the terminal device in the corresponding method embodiment of Figure 3, and the above-mentioned operations and / or functions of each unit in the terminal device 500 are omitted here for brevity, so as to realize the corresponding flow of the terminal device in the corresponding method embodiment of Figure 3 described above.

[0192] 6 is a block diagram of a network device 600 according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 6, the network device 600 includes a communication unit 610 and a processing unit 620. The communication unit 610 is configured to receive indication information, where the indication information is used to indicate information of a demand slice.

[0193] The processing unit 620 determines, based on the information of the demand slice, a first indication of whether a serving cell of the terminal device supports demand slicing; DC configuration for demand slicing, Activation or deactivation instructions for the DC corresponding to the demand slice; CA configuration supporting demand slicing, An instruction to activate or deactivate a CA corresponding to a demand slice; a second indication that the terminal device needs to perform a cell switch; configured to determine at least one of the third instructions that the terminal device needs to perform cell redirection; The communication unit 610, based on the information of the demand slice, a first indication of whether a serving cell of the terminal device supports demand slicing; DC configuration for demand slicing, Activation or deactivation instructions for the DC corresponding to the demand slice; CA configuration supporting demand slicing, An instruction to activate or deactivate a CA corresponding to a demand slice; a second indication that the terminal device needs to perform a cell switch; The terminal device is configured to transmit at least one of the third indications that cell redirection is required.

[0194] Optionally, the indication information is from a terminal device.

[0195] Optionally, the indication information is generated by the NAS of the terminal device and sent to the AS of the terminal device, or the indication information is sent to the terminal device by the core network device via a NAS message.

[0196] Optionally, the indication information is sent if the priority of the demand slice is higher than the priority of the terminal device current configuration, service or established slice.

[0197] Optionally, the indication information is sent in a service request process, a PDU session establishment request process, a paging process, or a PDU session adjustment request process, or the indication information is sent upon arrival of a service. Optionally, the indication information is carried in the reason value.

[0198] Optionally, the cause value is one of an RRC establishment reason, an RRC re-establishment reason, or a cell reselection reason.

[0199] Optionally, the indication information is carried in a dedicated message.

[0200] Optionally, the dedicated message is an RRC message, a MAC CE, or a UCI.

[0201] Optionally, the indication information comes from an application server.

[0202] Optionally, the instruction information further includes first information, where the first information requests at least one of performing a cell switch, establishing a CA, establishing a DC, and performing a cell redirection. Optionally, the communication unit 610 is further configured to send capability indication information to the terminal device, where the capability indication information comprises: Whether the terminal device supports CA, Whether the terminal device supports DC, the frequency points supported by the terminal device, the bandwidth supported by the terminal device, A combination or list of bandwidths supported by the terminal device; A combination or list of frequency points corresponding to the supported slices; A combination or list of bandwidths corresponding to the slices supported; Indicates at least one of a combination or list of carriers corresponding to the supported slices. Optionally, the information of the demand slice includes at least one of an identifier of the demand slice, a priority of the demand slice, frequency point information corresponding to the demand slice, and cell information corresponding to the demand slice.

[0203] Optionally, the frequency point information comprises a frequency point identifier and / or a frequency point priority.

[0204] Optionally, the processing unit 620 is specifically configured to determine whether the demand slice needs to be supported based on the priority of the demand slice and the priority of the currently configured slice of the terminal device.

[0205] Optionally, processing unit 620 is further configured to determine that the demand slice needs to be supported if the priority of the demand slice is higher than the priority of the currently configured slice, and to determine that the demand slice does not need to be supported if the priority of the demand slice is equal to or lower than the priority of the currently configured slice.

[0206] Optionally, the processing unit 620 is specifically configured to determine, based on the information of the demand slice and the information of the slices supported by the serving cell, at least one of a DC configuration corresponding to the demand slice, an activation or deactivation instruction of a DC corresponding to the demand slice, a CA configuration, an activation or deactivation instruction of a CA corresponding to the demand slice, performing a cell switch, and performing a cell redirection.

[0207] Optionally, the processing unit 620 is specifically configured to determine at least one of the above based on the indication information when the serving cell of the terminal device or the frequency point of the serving cell does not simultaneously support the current service of the terminal device and the service corresponding to the demand slice, and / or the priority of the service corresponding to the demand slice is higher than the priority of the current service; and / or the communication unit 610 is specifically configured to send at least one of the above based on the indication information when the serving cell of the terminal device or the frequency point of the serving cell does not simultaneously support the current service of the terminal device and the service corresponding to the demand slice, and / or the priority of the service corresponding to the demand slice is higher than the priority of the current service.

[0208] Optionally, the terminal device is in a connected state.

[0209] Optionally, in some embodiments, the above-mentioned communication unit may be a communication interface or transceiver, or an input / output interface of a communication chip or an on-chip system.

[0210] It should be noted that the network device 600 according to the embodiment of the present application may correspond to the network device in the corresponding method embodiment of FIG. 2, and the above-mentioned operations and / or functions of each unit in the network device 600 are omitted here for brevity, so as to realize the corresponding flow of the network device in the corresponding method embodiment of FIG. 2 above.

[0211] 7 is a schematic diagram of a communication device 700 according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 700 includes a processor 710 that can call and execute a computer program from a memory to implement a method according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0212] Optionally, as shown in Figure 7, the communication device 700 may also include a memory 720. Here, the processor 710 can call and execute a computer program from the memory 720 to implement the method in the embodiment of the present application.

[0213] Here, the memory 720 may be a separate device from the processor 710 or may be integrated into the processor 710.

[0214] Optionally, as shown in FIG. 7, the communication device 700 further includes a transceiver 730, and the processor 710 can control the transceiver 730 to communicate with other devices, specifically, to transmit information or data to other devices or receive information or data transmitted by other devices.

[0215] Here, the transceiver 730 may include a transmitter and a receiver, and may further include an antenna, and the number of antennas may be one or more.

[0216] Optionally, the communication device 700 may be a network device of an embodiment of the present application, and the communication device 700 may implement corresponding flows implemented by the network device in various methods of the embodiment of the present application, which are omitted here for brevity.

[0217] Optionally, the communication device 700 may be a terminal device of an embodiment of the present application, and the communication device 700 may implement corresponding flows implemented by the terminal device in various methods of the embodiment of the present application, which are omitted here for brevity.

[0218] 8 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application. The apparatus 800 includes a processor 810 that can call and execute a computer program from a memory to implement a method according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0219] Optionally, as shown in Figure 8, the device 800 may also include a memory 820. Here, the processor 810 can call and execute a computer program from the memory 820 to implement the method in the embodiment of the present application.

[0220] Here, the memory 820 may be a device separate from the processor 810 or may be integrated into the processor 810.

[0221] Optionally, the device 800 may further include an input interface 830. The processor 810 may control the input interface 830 to communicate with other devices or chips, and in particular, may obtain information or data transmitted by other devices or chips.

[0222] Optionally, the apparatus 800 may further include an output interface 840. The processor 810 may control the output interface 840 to communicate with other devices or chips, and in particular, may output information or data to other devices or chips.

[0223] Optionally, the device may be a network device of an embodiment of the present application, and the device may implement corresponding flows implemented by the network device in various methods of the embodiment of the present application, which are omitted here for brevity.

[0224] Optionally, the apparatus may be a terminal device of an embodiment of the present application, and the apparatus may implement corresponding flows implemented by the terminal device in various methods of the embodiment of the present application, which are omitted here for brevity.

[0225] It should be noted that the device referred to in the embodiments of the present application may be a chip, such as a system on a chip, a chip system, a system level chip, or a system on a chip.

[0226] 9 is a schematic block diagram of a communication system 900 provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 9, the communication system 900 includes a terminal device 910 and a network device 920.

[0227] Here, the terminal device 910 may be used to realize the corresponding functions realized by the terminal device in the above-mentioned method, and the network device 920 may be used to realize the corresponding functions realized by the network device or base station in the above-mentioned method, which will be omitted here for the sake of brevity.

[0228] It should be understood that the processor according to the embodiments of the present application may be an integrated circuit chip capable of processing signals. In the implementation process, each step of the above-described method embodiments may be executed by a hardware integrated logic circuit in the processor or by instructions in software format. The processor may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, or discrete hardware components. The methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented or executed. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the methods disclosed in the embodiments of the present application may be directly implemented as a hardware decoding processor or may be implemented as a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software modules may reside in storage media mature in the art, such as random memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, etc. The storage medium is located in a memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and completes the steps of the above-mentioned method in accordance with its hardware.

[0229] It should be understood that the memory in the embodiments herein may be volatile or nonvolatile memory, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile memory. Here, nonvolatile memory may be read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory may be random access memory (RAM) used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, many types of RAM may be used, such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronously linked dynamic random access memory (Synchlink DRAM, SLDRAM), and direct memory bus random access memory (Direct Rambus RAM, DR RAM). The memory of the systems and methods described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0230] The above-mentioned memories are exemplary and not limiting. For example, a memory in the embodiments herein may be a static random access memory (static RAM, SRAM), a dynamic random access memory (dynamic RAM, DRAM), a synchronous dynamic random access memory (synchronous DRAM, SDRAM), a double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (double data rate SDRAM, DDR SDRAM), an enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (enhanced SDRAM, ESDRAM), a synchronous link dynamic random access memory (synch link DRAM, SLDRAM), a direct memory bus random access memory (Direct Rambus RAM, DR RAM), etc. That is, a memory in the embodiments herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0231] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program.

[0232] Optionally, the computer-readable storage medium is applied to a network device in an embodiment of the present application, and the computer program causes a computer to execute a corresponding flow implemented by the network device in each method of the embodiment of the present application, the description of which is omitted here for brevity.

[0233] Optionally, the computer-readable storage medium is applied to a mobile terminal / terminal device in the embodiments of the present application, and the computer program causes a computer to execute corresponding flows implemented by the mobile terminal / terminal device in each method of the embodiments of the present application, the description of which is omitted here for the sake of brevity.

[0234] Embodiments of the present application further provide a computer program product including computer program instructions.

[0235] Optionally, the computer program product is applied to a network device in an embodiment of the present application, and the computer program instructions cause a computer to execute a corresponding flow implemented by the network device in each method of the embodiment of the present application, the description of which is omitted here for brevity.

[0236] Optionally, the computer program product is applied to a mobile terminal / terminal device in the embodiments of the present application, and the computer program instructions cause a computer to execute corresponding flows implemented by the mobile terminal / terminal device in each method of the embodiments of the present application, the description of which is omitted here for brevity.

[0237] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program.

[0238] Optionally, the computer program may be applied to a network device in an embodiment of the present application, and when the computer program is executed on a computer, the computer executes a corresponding flow implemented by the network device in each method of the embodiment of the present application, the description of which is omitted here for brevity.

[0239] Optionally, the computer program may be applied to a mobile terminal / terminal device in the embodiments of the present application, and when the computer program is executed on a computer, it causes the computer to execute the corresponding flow implemented by the mobile terminal / terminal device in each method of the embodiments of the present application, and the description thereof will be omitted here for the sake of brevity.

[0240] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art may use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementations should not be considered as departing from the scope of the present application.

[0241] Those skilled in the art will understand that for convenience and brevity of explanation, the specific operating processes of the above-described systems, devices and units may refer to the corresponding processes in the above-described method embodiments, and the description thereof will be omitted here.

[0242] In some embodiments provided herein, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, apparatuses, and methods may be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely exemplary, and the division of the described units is merely a division of one logical function. In actual implementations, there may be additional divisions; for example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted or not implemented. In other respects, the shown or discussed mutual couplings or direct couplings or communication connections may be indirect couplings or communication connections via some electrical, mechanical, or other form of interface, device, or unit.

[0243] The means described as the separation means may or may not be physically separated, and the means shown as means may or may not be physically separated, i.e., may be located in one place or may be distributed among multiple network elements, and some or all of them may be selected as necessary to achieve the purpose of this embodiment.

[0244] Furthermore, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into a single processing unit, each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into a single unit.

[0245] Furthermore, if these functions are realized as software functions and sold or used as an independent product, they may be stored in a computer-readable recording medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application, or a portion that contributes to the prior art, or a portion of the technical solution, may be embodied in the form of a software product stored in a storage medium, and the software product includes instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in each embodiment of the present application. Note that the storage medium includes various storage media capable of storing program code, such as a U-disk, a portable hard disk, a read-only memory, a ROM, a random access memory, a RAM, a magnetic disk, and an optical disk.

[0246] As described above, the embodiments of the present application have been described based on the technical concept of the present application, but the present application is not limited to the above embodiments, and any inventions that are within the technical scope of the present application can be understood by those skilled in the art based on the technical concept of the present application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present application should be determined solely by the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. The terminal device acquires indication information indicating information of the demand slice; After the terminal device obtains the information of the demand slice, if the terminal device has not performed a cell reselection process, the terminal device directly performs cell reselection; After the terminal device acquires the information of the demand slice, if the terminal device is performing a cell reselection process, the terminal device suspends the cell reselection process; The indication information is sent to the terminal device by a core network device via a NAS message; The information about the demand slice includes an identifier of the demand slice and a priority of the demand slice. A wireless communication method comprising:

2. The terminal device is in a disconnected state.

2. The wireless communication method according to claim 1.

3. After the terminal device performs cell reselection based on the information of the demand slice, and triggering a connection establishment process in the reselected cell by the terminal device.

3. The wireless communication method according to claim 1, wherein the first and second signals are transmitted to the second terminal.

4. Executing the wireless communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 A terminal device characterized in that

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