Communication method and communication apparatus

Abstract

Provided in the present application are a communication method and a communication apparatus. The method comprises: in a satellite communication scenario, a terminal device acquiring non-coverage duration information, wherein the non-coverage duration information indicates the duration for which a reference point is not under the coverage of a satellite; and furthermore, the terminal device determining the duration of a first timer according to the non-coverage duration information, wherein the first timer is used for the terminal device sending a message to a core network device by means of the satellite. By means of the method, when determining the duration of a first timer, a terminal device can take into account the duration for which a reference point is not under the coverage of a satellite, so as to avoid the situation in which the set duration of the timer is unsuitable, thereby improving the performance of the terminal device sending a message to a core network device by means of the satellite.

Description

Communication method and communication device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the China Patent Office on July 26, 2023, with application number 202310930324.4 and application name “Communication Method and Communication Device”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communications, and more particularly, to a communication method and a communication device. Background Art

[0003] When the terminal device sends a connection establishment request message to the core network device via the satellite, the terminal device starts a timer. If the terminal device receives a response message from the core network device before the timer expires, the terminal device stops the timer. If the terminal device does not receive a response message from the core network device when the timer expires, the terminal device terminates the connection establishment process between the terminal device and the core network device.

[0004] In the scenario where the satellite acts as the access network device, the connection between the terminal device and the core network device includes: the connection between the terminal device and the satellite (called the access connection), and the connection between the satellite and the ground gateway (called the feeder connection). Due to the mobility of the satellite, the access connection and the feeder connection may be discontinuous, that is, there is a situation of non-coverage of the connection, which in turn affects the duration of the signaling interaction between the terminal device and the core network device. Among them, the non-coverage duration of the access connection and the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection can be collectively referred to as the non-coverage duration. In the above case, if the terminal device still determines whether to stop the timer or terminate the connection establishment process with the core network device based on the duration of the above timer, it will lead to inaccurate judgment. Therefore, in the case of non-coverage, how to reasonably set the duration of the timer becomes an urgent problem to be solved.

[0005] Summary of the Invention

[0006] The present application provides a communication method that can reasonably set the duration of a timer in the presence of non-coverage, so that the terminal device can more accurately judge the message transmission status between the terminal device and the core network device based on the timer.

[0007] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method may be executed by a terminal device, or may be executed by a component of the terminal device (such as a chip or circuit), without limitation.

[0008] The method may include: obtaining non-coverage duration information, which is used to indicate the duration of time that the reference point is under satellite non-coverage; determining the duration of a first timer based on the non-coverage duration information, and the first timer is used by the terminal device to send a message to the core network device via the satellite.

[0009] Based on the above technical solution, before sending a message to a core network device via satellite, the terminal device obtains coverage duration information and, based on this coverage duration information, determines the duration of the reference point's absence from satellite coverage. Furthermore, when setting the duration of the first timer, the duration of the reference point's absence from satellite coverage is taken into account. Thus, the terminal device can determine the success or failure of the message sent to the core network device via satellite based on the first timer, thereby improving the accuracy of the terminal device's determination.

[0010] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the reference point includes a first reference point and a second reference point; the non-coverage duration information includes information on the first duration and information on the second duration, the first duration being the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the first reference point, and the second duration being the non-coverage duration of the feed connection corresponding to the second reference point, or the non-coverage duration information includes information on the sum of the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the first reference point and the non-coverage duration of the feed connection corresponding to the second reference point.

[0011] Based on the above technical solution, the non-coverage duration obtained by the terminal device includes two parts, one part is the non-coverage duration of the access connection, and the other part is the non-coverage duration of the feed connection. In the scenario where the terminal device communicates with the core network device via a satellite, non-coverage of the access connection and non-coverage of the feed connection may occur. In this technical solution, when the terminal device determines the duration of the first timer, it comprehensively considers the non-coverage duration of the access connection and the non-coverage duration of the feed connection, and can set the duration of the first timer that is more suitable for the satellite communication scenario.

[0012] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, determining the duration of the first timer based on the non-coverage duration information includes: determining the duration of the first timer based on the preset duration of the first timer, the information of the first duration, and the information of the second duration.

[0013] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the duration of the first timer is greater than or equal to the sum of the preset duration of the first timer, the first duration, and the second duration.

[0014] Based on the above technical solution, the duration of the first timer determined by the terminal device is greater than or equal to the preset duration of the first timer, the sum of the first duration and the second duration, that is, the duration of the first timer determined by the terminal device is greater than the preset duration of the first timer. The message transmission situation between the terminal device and the core network device is no longer judged based on the preset duration of the first timer, thereby improving the performance of the terminal device in sending messages to the core network device via satellite.

[0015] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the first reference point and the second reference point are the same, or the first reference point and the second reference point are different.

[0016] Based on the above technical solution, the first reference point and the second reference point may be the same or different, and this technical solution does not impose any limitation on this, thereby increasing the flexibility of the solution.

[0017] In conjunction with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the first reference point includes at least one of the following: the location of the terminal device, the location of the first gateway, the area in which the first gateway is located, or the area in which the terminal device is located; and the second reference point includes at least one of the following: the location of the terminal device, the location of the first gateway, the area in which the first gateway is located, or the area in which the terminal device is located. The first gateway may be a designated gateway among at least one gateway deployed in a satellite constellation, and the location or area in which the first gateway is located may be preconfigured.

[0018] Based on the above technical solution, the specific forms of the first reference point and / or the second reference point can be various. For example, the first reference point can be specifically embodied as the location or area of ​​the terminal device currently determining the duration of the first timer, or the location or area of ​​the first gateway. For another example, the second reference point can be specifically embodied as the location or area of ​​the terminal device currently determining the duration of the first timer, or the location or area of ​​the first gateway. Thus, the first reference point and / or the second reference point can be indicated in different ways, thereby increasing the flexibility of the solution.

[0019] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, obtaining the non-coverage duration information includes: receiving the non-coverage duration information from an access network device of the terminal device.

[0020] Based on the above technical solution, the terminal device can obtain the non-coverage duration information by directly receiving the non-coverage duration information from the access network device without the need for self-calculation, thereby reducing the complexity of the terminal device.

[0021] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the receiving of the non-coverage duration information from the access network device includes: receiving a broadcast message from the access network device, the broadcast message including the non-coverage duration information; or, receiving a wireless connection resource RRC reconfiguration message from the access network device, the RRC reconfiguration message including the non-coverage duration information.

[0022] Based on the above technical solution, the access network device can provide the non-coverage duration information to the terminal device by broadcasting or providing it through RRC reconfiguration messages, that is, the access network device can provide the above-mentioned non-coverage duration information to the terminal device in different ways, thereby improving the flexibility of the solution.

[0023] In conjunction with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, obtaining the non-coverage duration information includes determining the non-coverage duration information based on ephemeris information. The ephemeris information includes traditional ephemeris information and gateway deployment information. Traditional ephemeris information indicates the operating position of a satellite, and the gateway deployment information indicates the location of at least one gateway deployed in a satellite constellation. Alternatively, the ephemeris information includes satellite coverage information, which refers to satellite coverage that changes over time and location.

[0024] Based on the above technical solution, the terminal device can obtain the non-coverage duration information by determining the non-coverage duration information based on the ephemeris information, without the need for the access network device to determine the non-coverage duration information, thereby reducing the complexity of the access network device.

[0025] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the determining the non-coverage duration information based on the ephemeris information includes: determining information about a first duration and information about a second duration based on the ephemeris information, the first duration being the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the first reference point, and the second duration being the non-coverage duration of the feed connection corresponding to the second reference point; wherein the non-coverage duration information includes information about the first duration and information about the second duration.

[0026] Based on the above technical solution, when the terminal device independently determines the coverage non-duration information based on the ephemeris information, it determines the first duration information based on the ephemeris information (e.g., based on traditional ephemeris information in the ephemeris information; or satellite coverage information) and determines the second duration information based on the ephemeris information (e.g., based on traditional ephemeris information in the ephemeris information and gateway deployment information). This simultaneously considers the coverage non-duration of the access connection and the coverage non-duration of the feed connection, enabling the first timer duration to be set to be more appropriate for the satellite communication scenario.

[0027] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, obtaining the non-coverage duration information includes: receiving information about a second duration from an access network device of the terminal device, the second duration being the non-coverage duration of the feed connection corresponding to the second reference point; determining information about a first duration based on ephemeris information (e.g., based on traditional ephemeris information in the ephemeris information; or, satellite coverage information), the first duration being the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the first reference point; wherein the non-coverage duration information includes information about the first duration and information about the second duration.

[0028] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, obtaining the non-coverage duration information includes: receiving information about a first duration from an access network device of the terminal device, the first duration being the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the first reference point; determining information about a second duration based on ephemeris information (e.g., based on traditional ephemeris information and gateway deployment information in the ephemeris information; or, satellite coverage information), the second duration being the non-coverage duration of the feed connection corresponding to the second reference point; wherein the non-coverage duration information includes information about the first duration and information about the second duration.

[0029] Based on the above technical solution, the terminal device can obtain the non-coverage duration information by independently determining the first duration information or the second duration information in the non-coverage duration information based on the ephemeris information, and receiving the undetermined second duration information or the undetermined first duration information from the access network device. In this technical solution, the terminal device and the access network device can both calculate a portion of the duration information in the non-coverage duration information based on the ephemeris information, and the terminal device and the access network device share the responsibility of determining the non-coverage duration information, thus avoiding the problem of high complexity of a single device, where the terminal device or the access network device independently determines the non-coverage duration information.

[0030] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the information of the first duration is determined based on the ephemeris information, including: determining the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to at least one reference point based on the ephemeris information (such as, based on traditional ephemeris information in the ephemeris information; or, satellite coverage information); determining that the information of the first duration is the information of the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the first reference point based on the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the at least one reference point, wherein the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the first reference point is the largest of the non-coverage durations of the access connections corresponding to the at least one reference point.

[0031] Based on the above technical solution, the terminal device may determine the first duration based on the ephemeris information by: determining the non-coverage duration of an access connection corresponding to at least one reference point based on the ephemeris information, and using the maximum non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the at least one reference point as the first duration. This ensures that the determined first duration information can best meet the requirements of different reference points.

[0032] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, determining the information of the second duration based on the ephemeris information includes: determining the non-coverage duration of the feed connection corresponding to at least one reference point based on the ephemeris information (e.g., based on traditional ephemeris information and gateway deployment information in the ephemeris information; or, satellite coverage information); determining that the information of the second duration is the information of the non-coverage duration of the feed connection corresponding to the second reference point based on the non-coverage duration of the feed connection corresponding to the at least one reference point, wherein the non-coverage duration of the feed connection corresponding to the second reference point is the largest of the non-coverage durations of the feed connection corresponding to the at least one reference point.

[0033] Based on the above technical solution, the terminal device may determine the second duration based on the ephemeris information by: determining the non-coverage duration of the feed connection corresponding to at least one reference point based on the ephemeris information, and using the maximum of the non-coverage durations of the feed connection corresponding to the at least one reference point as the second duration. This ensures that the determined second duration information can best meet the requirements of different reference points.

[0034] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: receiving the ephemeris information from the access network device of the terminal device; or, receiving the ephemeris information from the core network device; or, obtaining the ephemeris information through the user plane.

[0035] Based on the above technical solution, the terminal device obtains ephemeris information in ways including but not limited to: receiving it from access network equipment and / or core network equipment, or obtaining it through the user plane, etc., thereby improving the flexibility of the solution.

[0036] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the receiving the ephemeris information from the access network device includes: receiving a broadcast message from the access network device of the terminal device, the broadcast message including the ephemeris information; or, receiving a wireless connection resource RRC reconfiguration message from the access network device of the terminal device, the RRC reconfiguration message including the ephemeris information.

[0037] Based on the above technical solution, the access network device can provide the terminal device with ephemeris information by broadcasting or providing it through RRC reconfiguration messages, that is, the access network device can provide the terminal device with the above ephemeris information in different ways, thereby improving the flexibility of the solution.

[0038] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, before determining the duration of the first timer based on the non-coverage duration information, the method also includes: receiving first indication information from the access network device of the terminal device; wherein the first indication information is used to indicate the terminal device to determine the duration of the first timer based on the non-coverage duration, or to indicate that the terminal device is in a non-continuous coverage scenario.

[0039] Based on the above technical solution, the terminal device can determine, based on the received first indication information, that the duration of the first timer needs to be considered in light of the non-coverage duration, so that the terminal device can determine the manner in which the duration of the first timer is set based on clear indication information, thereby avoiding the situation in which the terminal device still considers the non-coverage duration when the non-coverage duration does not need to be considered.

[0040] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the method also includes: when the terminal device sends a first request message to the core network device via a satellite, starting the first timer, and the first request message is used to request to establish a connection with the core network device; if before the first timer times out, a first response message is received from the core network device in response to the first request message, stopping the first timer; and / or, if, when the first timer times out, a first response message is still not received from the core network device in response to the first request message, terminating the connection with the core network device.

[0041] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first request message is a registration request message, and the first response message is a registration acceptance message; or, the first request message is a service request message, and the first response message is a service acceptance message.

[0042] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided. The method may be executed by an access network device, or may be executed by a component of the access network device (such as a chip or circuit), without limitation.

[0043] The method may include: determining, based on ephemeris information, coverage duration information indicating the duration of time a reference point is not under satellite coverage; and transmitting the coverage duration information to a terminal device. The ephemeris information includes traditional ephemeris information indicating the satellite's operating position and gateway deployment information indicating the location of at least one gateway deployed in a satellite constellation. Alternatively, the ephemeris information includes satellite coverage information, which refers to satellite coverage that changes over time and location.

[0044] Based on the above technical solution, the access network device can determine the non-coverage duration information based on the ephemeris information, and provide the non-coverage duration information to the terminal device, so that when the terminal device determines the duration of the first timer, it can consider the non-coverage duration and set a more appropriate duration of the first timer.

[0045] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the reference point includes a first reference point and a second reference point; the non-coverage duration information includes information on the first duration and information on the second duration, the first duration being the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the first reference point, and the second duration being the non-coverage duration of the feed connection corresponding to the second reference point, or the non-coverage duration information includes information on the sum of the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the first reference point and the non-coverage duration of the feed connection corresponding to the second reference point.

[0046] Based on the above technical solution, the non-coverage duration obtained by the access network device includes two parts, one part is the non-coverage duration of the access connection, and the other part is the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection. In the scenario where the terminal device communicates with the core network device via a satellite, non-coverage of the access connection and non-coverage of the feeder connection may occur. In this technical solution, the access network device provides the terminal device with the non-coverage duration of the access connection and the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection, so that the terminal device comprehensively considers the non-coverage duration of the access connection and the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection when determining the duration of the first timer.

[0047] In addition, the description related to the first reference point and the second reference point can refer to the first aspect and will not be repeated here.

[0048] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, sending the non-coverage duration information to the terminal device includes: sending a broadcast message to the terminal device, the broadcast message including the non-coverage duration information; or, sending a wireless connection resource RRC reconfiguration message to the terminal device, the RRC reconfiguration message including the non-coverage duration information.

[0049] Based on the above technical solution, the access network device can provide the non-coverage duration information to the terminal device by broadcasting or providing it through RRC reconfiguration messages, that is, the access network device can provide the above-mentioned non-coverage duration information to the terminal device in different ways, thereby improving the flexibility of the solution.

[0050] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the non-coverage duration information is determined based on the ephemeris information, including: determining the first duration information based on the ephemeris information (such as, based on traditional ephemeris information in the ephemeris information; or, satellite coverage information), where the first duration is the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the first reference point.

[0051] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the information of the first duration is determined based on the ephemeris information (e.g., based on traditional ephemeris information in the ephemeris information; or, satellite coverage information), including: determining the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to at least one reference point based on the ephemeris information (e.g., based on traditional ephemeris information in the ephemeris information; or, satellite coverage information); determining that the information of the first duration is the information of the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the first reference point based on the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the at least one reference point, wherein the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the first reference point is the largest of the non-coverage durations of the access connections corresponding to the at least one reference point.

[0052] Based on the above technical solution, the access network device may determine the first duration based on the ephemeris information by: determining the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to at least one reference point based on the ephemeris information (e.g., traditional ephemeris information in the ephemeris information; or satellite coverage information), and using the maximum non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the at least one reference point as the first duration. This ensures that the determined first duration can best meet the requirements of different reference points.

[0053] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, determining the non-coverage duration information based on the ephemeris information includes: determining information of a second duration based on the ephemeris information (e.g., based on traditional ephemeris information and gateway deployment information in the ephemeris information; or, satellite coverage information), where the second duration is the non-coverage duration of the feed connection corresponding to the second reference point.

[0054] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, determining the information of the second duration based on the ephemeris information (e.g., based on traditional ephemeris information and gateway deployment information in the ephemeris information; or, satellite coverage information) includes: determining the non-coverage duration of the feed connection corresponding to at least one reference point based on the ephemeris information (e.g., based on traditional ephemeris information and gateway deployment information in the ephemeris information; or, satellite coverage information); determining the information of the second duration as the information of the non-coverage duration of the feed connection corresponding to the second reference point based on the non-coverage duration of the feed connection corresponding to the at least one reference point, wherein the non-coverage duration of the feed connection corresponding to the second reference point is the largest of the non-coverage durations of the feed connection corresponding to the at least one reference point.

[0055] Based on the above technical solution, the access network device may determine the second duration based on the ephemeris information: the access network device may determine the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection corresponding to at least one reference point based on the ephemeris information (e.g., based on traditional ephemeris information and gateway deployment information in the ephemeris information; or satellite coverage information), and use the maximum duration of the non-coverage durations of the feeder connection corresponding to the at least one reference point as the second duration. This ensures that the determined second duration information can best meet the requirements of different reference points.

[0056] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: sending first indication information to the terminal device; wherein the first indication information is used to indicate the terminal device to determine the duration of the first timer based on the non-coverage duration, or to indicate that the terminal device is in a non-continuous coverage scenario.

[0057] Based on the above technical solution, the access network device can provide the first indication information to the terminal device so that the terminal device can determine the method for setting the duration of the first timer based on the clear indication information, thereby avoiding the terminal device still considering the non-coverage duration in a scenario where the non-coverage duration does not need to be considered.

[0058] On the third aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by a core network device, or can also be executed by a component of the core network device (such as a chip or circuit), without limitation.

[0059] The method may include: obtaining non-coverage duration information, which is used to indicate the duration of time that the reference point is under satellite non-coverage; determining the duration of a second timer based on the non-coverage duration information, and the second timer is used by the core network device to send a message to the terminal device via the satellite.

[0060] Based on the above technical solution, before sending a message to a terminal device via satellite, the core network device obtains coverage duration information and, based on this coverage duration information, determines the duration of time the reference point was outside satellite coverage. Furthermore, when setting the duration of the second timer, the duration of time the reference point was outside satellite coverage is taken into account. Thus, the core network device can determine the success or failure of the message sent to the terminal device via satellite based on the second timer, thereby improving the accuracy of the core network device's determination.

[0061] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the reference point includes a third reference point and a fourth reference point; the non-coverage duration information includes information on the third duration and information on the fourth duration, the third duration being the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the third reference point, and the fourth duration being the non-coverage duration of the feed connection corresponding to the fourth reference point, or the non-coverage duration information includes information on the sum of the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the third reference point and the non-coverage duration of the feed connection corresponding to the fourth reference point.

[0062] Based on the above technical solution, the non-coverage duration obtained by the core network device includes two parts, one part is the non-coverage duration of the access connection, and the other part is the non-coverage duration of the feed connection. In the scenario where the core network device communicates with the terminal device via satellite, non-coverage of the access connection and non-coverage of the feed connection may occur. In this technical solution, when the core network device determines the duration of the second timer, it comprehensively considers the non-coverage duration of the access connection and the non-coverage duration of the feed connection, and can set the duration of the second timer that is more suitable for the satellite communication scenario.

[0063] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the duration of the second timer is determined based on the non-coverage duration information, including: determining the duration of the second timer based on the preset duration of the second timer, the information of the third duration and the information of the fourth duration.

[0064] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the duration of the second timer is greater than or equal to the sum of the preset duration of the second timer, the third duration, and the fourth duration.

[0065] Based on the above technical solution, the duration of the second timer determined by the core network device is greater than or equal to the sum of the preset duration of the second timer, the third duration and the fourth duration, that is, the duration of the second timer determined by the core network device is greater than the preset duration of the second timer. The message transmission situation between the terminal device and the preset duration of the second timer is no longer judged, thereby improving the performance of the core network device in sending messages to the terminal device via satellite.

[0066] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the third reference point and the fourth reference point are the same, or the third reference point and the fourth reference point are different.

[0067] Based on the above technical solution, the third reference point and the fourth reference point may be the same or different. This technical solution does not impose any limitation on this, thereby increasing the flexibility of the solution.

[0068] In conjunction with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the third reference point includes at least one of the following: the location of the core network device or terminal device, the location of a second gateway, the area in which the second gateway is located, or the area in which the core network device is located; and the fourth reference point includes at least one of the following: the location of the core network device, the location of the second gateway, the area in which the second gateway is located, or the area in which the core network device is located. The second gateway may be a designated gateway among at least one gateway deployed by a satellite constellation, the second gateway may be a gateway associated with the core network device among at least one gateway deployed by a designated satellite constellation, and the location or area in which the second gateway is located may be preconfigured.

[0069] Based on the above technical solution, the third reference point and / or the fourth reference point can be in various specific forms. For example, the third reference point can be specifically embodied as the location or region of the core network device or terminal device currently determining the duration of the second timer, or the location or region of the second gateway. For another example, the fourth reference point can be specifically embodied as the location or region of the core network device or terminal device currently determining the duration of the second timer, or the location or region of the second gateway. Thus, the third reference point and / or the fourth reference point can be indicated in different ways, thereby increasing the flexibility of the solution.

[0070] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the acquiring of the non-coverage duration information includes: receiving the non-coverage duration information from an operation, maintenance and management (OAM) device or an application function (AF) entity.

[0071] Based on the above technical solution, the core network device can obtain the non-coverage duration information by directly receiving the non-coverage duration information from the OAM device or AF without the need for self-calculation, thereby reducing the complexity of the core network device.

[0072] In conjunction with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, obtaining the coverage-free duration information includes determining the coverage-free duration information based on ephemeris information. The ephemeris information includes traditional ephemeris information and gateway deployment information. Traditional ephemeris information indicates the operating position of a satellite, and the gateway deployment information indicates the location of at least one gateway deployed in a satellite constellation. Alternatively, the ephemeris information includes satellite coverage information, which refers to satellite coverage that changes over time and location.

[0073] Based on the above technical solution, the core network device can obtain the non-coverage duration information by determining the non-coverage duration information based on the ephemeris information, without the need for the OAM device or AF to determine the non-coverage duration information, thereby reducing the complexity of the OAM device or AF.

[0074] In conjunction with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, determining the non-coverage duration information based on ephemeris information includes: determining, based on the ephemeris information, information about a third duration and information about a fourth duration, where the third duration is the non-coverage duration of an access connection corresponding to a third reference point, and the fourth duration is the non-coverage duration of a feeder connection corresponding to the fourth reference point; wherein the non-coverage duration information includes information about the third duration and the fourth duration. The ephemeris information includes traditional ephemeris information and gateway deployment information, where the traditional ephemeris information indicates the operating position of a satellite, and the gateway deployment information indicates the position of at least one gateway deployed in a satellite constellation, or the gateway deployment information indicates the position of a gateway connected to a core network device among at least one gateway deployed in the satellite constellation.

[0075] Based on the above technical solution, when the core network device independently determines the coverage non-duration information based on the ephemeris information, it determines the third duration information and the fourth duration information based on the ephemeris information. This takes into account both the coverage non-duration of the access connection and the coverage non-duration of the feed connection, enabling the second timer duration to be set to a value more appropriate for satellite communication scenarios.

[0076] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the method further includes: receiving the ephemeris information from an operation, maintenance and management OAM device or an application function entity AF.

[0077] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the information of the third duration is determined based on the ephemeris information (such as, based on traditional ephemeris information in the ephemeris information; or, satellite coverage information), including: determining the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to at least one reference point based on the ephemeris information; determining that the information of the third duration is the information of the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the third reference point based on the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the at least one reference point, wherein the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the third reference point is the largest of the non-coverage durations of the access connection corresponding to the at least one reference point.

[0078] Based on the above technical solution, the core network device may determine the third duration based on the ephemeris information (e.g., traditional ephemeris information in the ephemeris information; or satellite coverage information): the core network device may determine the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to at least one reference point based on the ephemeris information (e.g., traditional ephemeris information in the ephemeris information; or satellite coverage information), and use the maximum duration among the non-coverage durations of the access connections corresponding to the at least one reference point as the third duration. This ensures that the determined third duration information can best meet the requirements of different reference points.

[0079] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the information of the fourth duration is determined based on the ephemeris information (e.g., based on traditional ephemeris information and gateway deployment information in the ephemeris information; or, satellite coverage information), including: determining the non-coverage duration of the feed connection corresponding to at least one reference point based on the ephemeris information; and determining that the information of the fourth duration is the information of the non-coverage duration of the feed connection corresponding to the fourth reference point based on the non-coverage duration of the feed connection corresponding to the at least one reference point, wherein the non-coverage duration of the feed connection corresponding to the fourth reference point is the largest of the non-coverage durations of the feed connection corresponding to the at least one reference point.

[0080] Based on the above technical solution, the core network device may determine the fourth duration based on the ephemeris information (e.g., based on traditional ephemeris information and gateway deployment information in the ephemeris information; or satellite coverage information): the core network device may determine the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection corresponding to at least one reference point based on the ephemeris information (e.g., based on traditional ephemeris information and gateway deployment information in the ephemeris information; or satellite coverage information), and use the largest duration of the non-coverage durations of the feeder connection corresponding to the at least one reference point as the fourth duration. This ensures that the determined fourth duration can best meet the requirements of different reference points.

[0081] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the method also includes: when the core network device sends a first response message to the terminal device via a satellite, starting the second timer, and the first response message is used to respond to the terminal device's request to establish a connection; if before the second timer times out, a second response message is received from the terminal device in response to the first response message, stopping the second timer; and / or, if the second response message from the terminal device in response to the first response message is still not received when the second timer times out, terminating the connection with the terminal device.

[0082] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the first response message includes second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate that after the terminal device receives the first response message, it feeds back a second response message in response to the first response message.

[0083] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the first response message is a registration acceptance message, and the second response message is a registration success message.

[0084] In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided, which is configured to execute the methods provided in aspects 1 to 3 above. Specifically, the device may include units and / or modules, such as a processing unit and / or a communication unit, configured to execute the methods provided in any one of the aforementioned implementations of aspects 1 to 3 above.

[0085] In one implementation, the apparatus is a terminal device. When the apparatus is a terminal device, the communication unit may be a transceiver or an input / output interface; and the processing unit may be at least one processor. Optionally, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit. Optionally, the input / output interface may be an input / output circuit.

[0086] In another implementation, the device is a chip, chip system, or circuit used in a terminal device. When the device is a chip, chip system, or circuit used in a terminal device, the communication unit may be an input / output interface, interface circuit, output circuit, input circuit, pin, or related circuit on the chip, chip system, or circuit; and the processing unit may be at least one processor, processing circuit, or logic circuit.

[0087] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, which includes: a memory for storing programs; and at least one processor for executing computer programs or instructions stored in the memory to execute any one of the above-mentioned implementations of the first to third aspects, or the method provided by any one of the above-mentioned implementations of the second to third aspects.

[0088] In one implementation, the apparatus is a terminal device.

[0089] In another implementation, the apparatus is a chip, a chip system, or a circuit used in a terminal device.

[0090] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a processor for executing the methods provided in the above aspects.

[0091] For the operations such as sending and acquiring / receiving involved in the processor, unless otherwise specified, or if they do not conflict with their actual functions or internal logic in the relevant descriptions, they can be understood as processor output, reception, input and other operations, and can also be understood as sending and receiving operations performed by the radio frequency circuit and antenna. This application does not limit this.

[0092] In a seventh aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores a program code for execution by a device, and the program code includes a method for executing any one of the above-mentioned implementation methods of the first to third aspects.

[0093] In an eighth aspect, a computer program product comprising instructions is provided, which, when run on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method provided in any one of the above-mentioned implementations of the first to third aspects.

[0094] In the ninth aspect, a chip is provided, which includes a processor and a communication interface. The processor reads instructions stored in a memory through the communication interface and executes the method provided by any one of the above-mentioned implementation methods of the first to third aspects.

[0095] Optionally, as an implementation method, the chip also includes a memory, in which a computer program or instruction is stored, and the processor is used to execute the computer program or instruction stored on the memory. When the computer program or instruction is executed, the processor is used to execute the method provided in any one of the above-mentioned implementation methods of the first to third aspects.

[0096] In a tenth aspect, a communication system is provided, comprising the terminal device of the first aspect and the access network device of the second aspect above.

[0097] In the eleventh aspect, a communication system is provided, comprising the terminal device of the first aspect, the access network device of the second aspect, and the core network device of the third aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0098] FIG1 shows a schematic diagram of a network architecture.

[0099] FIG2 shows a schematic diagram of discontinuous coverage of an access connection.

[0100] FIG3 shows a schematic diagram of discontinuous coverage of a feed connection.

[0101] FIG4 shows a schematic diagram of a NAS timer.

[0102] FIG5 shows a schematic diagram of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0103] FIG6 shows a schematic diagram of a terminal device obtaining non-coverage duration information provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0104] FIG7 shows a schematic diagram of another terminal device obtaining non-coverage duration information provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0105] FIG8 shows a schematic diagram of another terminal device obtaining non-coverage duration information provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0106] FIG9 shows a schematic diagram of another terminal device obtaining non-coverage duration information provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0107] FIG10 shows a schematic diagram of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0108] FIG11 shows a schematic block diagram of a communication device 10 provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0109] FIG12 shows a schematic diagram of another communication device 20 provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0110] FIG13 shows a schematic diagram of a chip system 30 provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0111] The technical solution in this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0112] The technical solutions provided in this application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: fifth generation (5G) or new radio (NR) systems, long term evolution (LTE) systems, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) systems, LTE time division duplex (TDD) systems, etc. The technical solutions provided in this application can also be applied to future communication systems, such as the sixth generation mobile communication system. The technical solutions provided in this application can also be applied to device to device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine to machine (M2M) communication, machine type communication (MTC), and Internet of Things (IoT) communication systems or other communication systems.

[0113] First, a brief introduction to the network architecture applicable to this application is as follows.

[0114] As an example, FIG1 shows a schematic diagram of a network architecture.

[0115] As shown in Figure 1, the network architecture takes the 5G system (5GS) as an example. The network architecture may include but is not limited to: network slice selection function (NSSF), authentication server function (AUSF), unified data management (UDM), network exposure function (NEF), network storage function (NF repository function, NRF), policy control function (PCF), application function (AF), access and mobility management function (AMF), session management function (SMF), user equipment (UE), radio access network equipment, user plane function (UPF), and data network (DN).

[0116] Among them, DN can be the Internet; NSSF, AUSF, UDM, NEF, NRF, PCF, AF, AMF, SMF, and UPF are network elements in the core network. Since Figure 1 takes the 5G system as an example, the core network can be called the 5G core network (5G core network, 5GC or 5GCN).

[0117] The following is a brief introduction to each network element shown in FIG1 .

[0118] 1. UE: may also be referred to as terminal equipment, access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent or user device.

[0119] The terminal device can be a device that provides voice / data to users, for example, a handheld device or vehicle-mounted device with a wireless connection function. At present, some examples of terminals are: mobile phones, tablet computers, laptop computers, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, wireless terminals in smart homes, cellular phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld devices with wireless communication capabilities, computing devices or other processing devices connected to wireless modems, wearable devices, terminal devices in 5G networks or future evolved public land mobile communication networks (PLMNs). The terminal equipment in the network (PLMN), etc., is not limited to this in the embodiments of the present application.

[0120] As an example and not a limitation, in the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device may also be a wearable device. Wearable devices may also be called wearable smart devices, which are a general term for wearable devices that are intelligently designed and developed using wearable technology for daily wear, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. A wearable device is a portable device that is worn directly on the body or integrated into the user's clothes or accessories. Wearable devices are not only hardware devices, but also achieve powerful functions through software support, data interaction, and cloud interaction. Broadly speaking, 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.

[0121] In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device can also be a terminal device in an IoT system. IoT is an important part of the future development of information technology. Its main technical feature is to connect objects to the network through communication technology, thereby realizing an intelligent network of human-machine interconnection and object-to-object interconnection.

[0122] It should be noted that the terminal device and the access network device can communicate with each other using a certain air interface technology (such as NR or LTE technology). The terminal devices can also communicate with each other using a certain air interface technology (such as NR or LTE technology).

[0123] In the embodiments of the present application, the device for implementing the function of the terminal device can be the terminal device, or it can be a device that can support the terminal device to implement the function, such as a chip system or chip, which can be installed in the terminal device. In the embodiments of the present application, the chip system can be composed of a chip, or it can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0124] 2. (Radio) Access Network (R)AN) equipment: This equipment provides access to the communications network for authorized users in a specific area. Specifically, it can include wireless network equipment in 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) networks as well as access points in non-3GPP networks. For ease of description, the term "AN" is used below.

[0125] AN equipment can adopt different wireless access technologies. There are currently two types of wireless access technologies: 3GPP access technology (for example, the wireless access technology used in the third generation (3rd generation, 3G), fourth generation (4G) or 5G systems) and non-3GPP (non-3GPP) access technology. 3GPP access technology refers to access technology that complies with 3GPP standard specifications. For example, the access network equipment in the 5G system is called the next generation Node Base station (gNB) or RAN equipment. Non-3GPP access technologies may include air interface technologies represented by access points (APs) in wireless fidelity (WiFi), worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX), code division multiple access (CDMA), etc. AN equipment can allow terminal devices and the 3GPP core network to interconnect and communicate using non-3GPP technologies.

[0126] AN equipment is responsible for radio resource management, quality of service (QoS) management, data compression and encryption, etc. on the air interface side. AN equipment provides access services to terminal devices and forwards control signals and user data between terminal devices and the core network.

[0127] AN equipment may include, for example, but is not limited to: a macro base station, a micro base station (also known as a small station), a radio network controller (RNC), a node B (NB), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a home base station (e.g., a home evolved NodeB, or home Node B, HNB), a baseband unit (BBU), an AP in a WiFi system, a wireless relay node, a wireless backhaul node, a transmission point (TP) or a transmission and reception point (TRP), etc. It may also be a gNB or a transmission point (TRP or TP) in a 5G (e.g., NR) system, one or a group of (including multiple antenna panels) antenna panels of a base station in a 5G system, or a network node constituting a gNB or a transmission point, such as a distributed unit (DU), or a base station in a next-generation communication 6G system. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the AN equipment.

[0128] It should be noted that in this application, satellites can function as RAN, meaning that terminal devices can communicate with the core network via satellite. For example, satellite communications can be used to address coverage issues in remote areas, such as mountainous areas and oceans. This approach is known as regenerative satellite communication. Alternatively, satellites can serve only as radio frequency units, meaning that RAN functions are still performed by ground base stations. This is also a satellite communication implementation method known as transparent satellite communication.

[0129] 3. AMF: Mainly used for access control, mobility management, attachment and detachment functions.

[0130] 4. SMF: Mainly used for user-plane network element selection, user-plane network element redirection, Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation for terminal devices, as well as session establishment, modification and release and QoS control.

[0131] 5. UPF: Mainly responsible for receiving and forwarding user plane data. For example, the UPF can receive user plane data from the DN and send it to the terminal device through the AN device. The UPF can also receive user plane data from the terminal device through the AN device and forward it to the DN.

[0132] 6. NEF: Mainly used to securely open the services and capabilities provided by 3GPP network functions to the outside world.

[0133] 7. PCF: A unified policy framework mainly used to guide network behavior and provide policy rule information for control plane network elements (such as AMF, SMF, etc.).

[0134] 8. AF: Mainly used to provide services to the 3GPP network, such as interacting with the PCF for policy control.

[0135] 9. Network slice selection function (NSSF): mainly used for network slice selection.

[0136] 10. UDM: Mainly used for UE contract data management, including storage and management of UE identification, UE access authorization, etc.

[0137] 11. DN: Operator network mainly used to provide data services to UE, such as the Internet, third-party service networks, and IP Multimedia Service (IMS) networks.

[0138] 12. AUSF: Mainly used for user authentication, etc.

[0139] 13. NRF: Mainly used to store description information of network functional entities and the services they provide.

[0140] In the network architecture shown in Figure 1, network elements can communicate with each other via interfaces. For example, a UE is connected to an AN device via a radio resource control (RRC) protocol, and the UE and AN device communicate via a Uu interface.

[0141] It should be understood that the network architecture shown above is only an exemplary illustration, and the network architecture applicable to the embodiments of the present application is not limited to this. Any network architecture that can realize the functions of the above-mentioned network elements is applicable to the embodiments of the present application.

[0142] It should also be understood that the AMF, SMF, UPF, PCF, UDM, NSSF, AUSF and other functions or network elements shown in Figure 1 can be understood as network elements for implementing different functions, for example, they can be combined into network slices as needed. These network elements can be independent devices, or they can be integrated into the same device to implement different functions, or they can be network elements in hardware devices, or they can be software functions running on dedicated hardware, or they can be virtualized functions instantiated on a platform (for example, a cloud platform). This application does not limit the specific form of the above network elements.

[0143] It should also be understood that the above naming is defined only to facilitate the distinction between different functions and should not constitute any limitation to this application. This application does not exclude the possibility of adopting other naming in 6G networks and other future networks. For example, in a 6G network, some or all of the above network elements may continue to use the terminology used in 5G, or may adopt other names.

[0144] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, a brief description of the basic concepts involved in the present application is given.

[0145] 1. Satellite communication ground systems: These typically employ a star-shaped architecture consisting of gateways (GWs) and user stations. Gateways have high capacity and are typically equipped with large-aperture antennas, connecting the ground network to the satellite feed beam. User stations communicate with the gateways via communication satellites. Furthermore, satellite communication ground systems may include a network operations center (NOC) to manage the satellite network and provide user services.

[0146] 2. Discontinuous Access Connection Coverage: As mentioned above, RAN functions can be performed by satellites. The connection between a terminal device and a satellite is called a service connection (also called an access connection).

[0147] Satellites' regular motion around the Earth keeps their coverage constantly moving, often resulting in discontinuous coverage for specific ground areas. For example, at an oil field deep in the desert, one or more satellites, while regularly orbiting the Earth, may only be able to provide network communication services, such as data collection and reporting from various sensors, to the oil field during specific time periods. This means that ground equipment is often left without network coverage.

[0148] For ease of understanding, a scenario of discontinuous coverage of an access connection is briefly introduced with reference to FIG2 .

[0149] As shown in Figure 2, at time #1, the satellite covers area #1. As the satellite moves, at time #2, the satellite covers area #2. At time #1, the terminal device is located in area #1 and can communicate with the satellite via an access connection. At time #2, the terminal device is no longer located in area #2, resulting in a lack of coverage. The scenario shown in Figure 2 illustrates discontinuous access connection coverage.

[0150] 3. Discontinuous Coverage Duration of Access Connection: This can also be referred to as the non-coverage duration of access connection. As can be seen from the above, the access connection between the terminal device and the satellite may not always be connected, and there may be discontinuities.

[0151] Exemplarily, within 24 hours, the access connection between a terminal device and a satellite may be disconnected at least once, and the sum of the durations of at least one access connection disconnection is the discontinuous coverage duration of the access connection; or, the maximum duration of at least one access connection disconnection is the discontinuous coverage duration of the access connection; or, the minimum duration of at least one access connection disconnection is the discontinuous coverage duration of the access connection; or, the average duration of at least one access connection disconnection is the discontinuous coverage duration of the access connection; or, the discontinuous coverage duration when the access connection between the terminal device and the satellite is disconnected, that is, when the connection is disconnected at least once, the discontinuous coverage duration of the access connection may vary.

[0152] It should be understood that the above-mentioned method for determining the discontinuous coverage duration of the access connection is only an example and does not constitute any limitation to the scope of protection of this application.

[0153] 4. Discontinuous coverage of feeder connections: The connection between the satellite and the ground gateway is called a feeder connection. Similar to the discontinuous coverage of the access connection mentioned above, the feeder connection also has discontinuous coverage due to the movement of the satellite.

[0154] For ease of understanding, a scenario of discontinuous coverage of the feeder connection is briefly introduced with reference to FIG3 .

[0155] As shown in Figure 3, at time #1, the satellite can provide access services to the terminal device, and a service connection exists between the terminal device and the satellite. However, because the satellite cannot connect to the ground gateway (i.e., there is no feeder connection), the terminal device's signaling and / or data cannot be sent through the ground gateway to the terrestrial core network.

[0156] As the satellite moves, at time #2, it may connect to a ground gateway, establishing a feeder connection or coverage. At this point, the terminal device's signaling and / or data can be sent to the terrestrial core network via the ground gateway. At this point, the connection between the satellite and the terminal device ceases. Furthermore, as the satellite continues to move, at time #3, the satellite may regain coverage of the terminal device, providing access services. At this point, the feeder connection ceases.

[0157] 5. Discontinuous coverage duration of the feed connection: This can also be referred to as the non-coverage duration of the feed connection. As can be seen from the above, the connection between the satellite and the ground gateway may not always be connected, and there may be discontinuous situations.

[0158] Exemplarily, within the satellite constellation operation cycle, the number of times the feed connection between a certain gateway station and the satellite is disconnected may be at least once, and the sum of the durations of at least one feed connection disconnection is the discontinuous coverage duration of the feed connection; or, the maximum duration of at least one feed connection disconnection is the discontinuous coverage duration of the feed connection; or, the minimum duration of at least one feed connection disconnection is the discontinuous coverage duration of the feed connection; or, the average duration of at least one feed connection disconnection is the discontinuous coverage duration of the feed connection; or, the discontinuous coverage duration when the feed connection between the gateway station and the satellite is disconnected, that is, when the connection is disconnected at least once, the discontinuous coverage duration of the feed connection may vary.

[0159] It should be understood that the above-mentioned method for determining the discontinuous coverage duration of the feeding connection is only an example and does not constitute any limitation to the scope of protection of the present application.

[0160] 6. Non-coverage duration information: This information is also called discontinuous coverage duration information. It indicates how satellite non-coverage conditions vary over time and location. Non-coverage duration information indicates the duration a location is not covered by satellites.

[0161] Exemplarily, within the satellite constellation operation cycle, position #1 is not covered by the satellite at least once, and the duration indicated by the non-coverage duration information is: the maximum duration of at least one non-satellite coverage; or, the average duration of at least one non-satellite coverage; or, the minimum duration of at least one non-satellite coverage; or, the duration each time position #1 is not covered, that is, for position #1, the non-continuous coverage duration may vary, etc.

[0162] There are many ways to specifically represent the non-coverage duration information, for example, it can be represented by time length (i.e., duration), it can also be represented by start time and end time, or it can be represented by start time and time length. There are many ways to obtain non-coverage duration information, for example, it can be represented by ephemeris information, or it can be represented by a map. This application does not limit the specific method. It is understood that this application will be explained later using time length as an example.

[0163] Exemplarily, non-coverage duration information representation mode #1 is: the duration during the satellite constellation operating cycle that location #1 was outside of access connection and / or feeder connection coverage. Alternatively, non-coverage duration information representation mode #2 is: location #2 had no access connection and / or feeder connection until time #1.

[0164] 7. Almanac information: As a possible implementation method, the almanac information involved in this application includes but is not limited to traditional almanac information and gateway deployment information. Among them, traditional almanac information includes but is not limited to orbital parameters, or parameters such as the satellite's position calculated based on orbital parameters. It can be understood that traditional almanac information can be used to calculate, predict, depict, or track the time, position, speed and other states of satellite flight. For example, traditional almanac information can be 17 bytes of information to represent position (78 bits) and speed (54 bits), or traditional almanac information can be 18 bytes of information to represent orbital parameters (such as semi-major axis, range, eccentricity, perigee angular distance and other parameters).

[0165] It should be noted that the specific form and content of traditional ephemeris information are not limited in this application, and the definition of ephemeris information in existing protocols may be referred to.

[0166] Gateway deployment information includes the location information of at least one gateway deployed by the satellite constellation. For example, the satellite constellation deploys three ground gateways, GW#1 to GW#3, corresponding to three locations, GW-location#1, GW-location#2, and GW-location#3, respectively. This application does not limit the specific form, content, or name of the ephemeris information. For example, in this application, ephemeris information may also be referred to as satellite coverage availability information.

[0167] In addition, it should be noted that the discontinuous coverage duration of the access connection can be determined based on the traditional ephemeris information in the ephemeris information. The discontinuous coverage duration of the feed connection can be determined based on the traditional ephemeris information in the ephemeris information and the deployment information of the gateway.

[0168] As another possible implementation, the ephemeris information involved in the present application includes satellite coverage information, and the satellite coverage information refers to the satellite coverage that changes with time and position.

[0169] For example, for a fixed location, the satellite coverage information is expressed as: <n><0or 1><Duration 1> <0or1><Duration 2> ....<0or 1><Duration N> Where N represents the specific number of durations of coverage or no coverage; 0 represents no coverage, and 1 represents coverage; and Duration represents the duration of coverage or no coverage.

[0170] For example, <0><duration 1,9:00-10:00> Indicates no coverage between 9:00-10:10; for example, <1><duration 2,10:00-12:00> Indicates coverage from 10:00 to 12:10.

[0171] For example, for a fixed time, the satellite coverage information is expressed as: <n><0or 1><location 1> <0or 1><location 2> ....<0or 1><location N> Wherein, N represents the specific number of locations or location areas with or without coverage; 0 represents no coverage, and 1 represents coverage; and location represents a location or location area with or without coverage.

[0172] For example, <0><location 1> Indicates that location 1 has no coverage at a fixed time; for example, <1><location 2> Indicates that location 2 has coverage at a fixed time.

[0173] 8. NAS timer: A timer used to determine whether non-access stratum signaling has been successfully transmitted. This timer includes, but is not limited to, a timer used to determine whether signaling in the registration process has been successfully transmitted. It can also be used for signaling in the service request process, without limitation.

[0174] For ease of understanding, possible forms of the NAS timer involved in the embodiments of the present application are illustrated with reference to FIG4 .

[0175] Figure 4 takes the terminal device accessing the core network as an example to describe the NAS timer maintained on the terminal device side and the NAS timer maintained on the AMF side.

[0176] As can be seen from Figure 4, when the terminal device initiates the network access process (i.e., the registration process), the terminal device starts the NAS timer T3510 when sending a registration request message to the AMF. If the terminal device receives a response message from the AMF during the T3510 timing process, such as a registration accept message, T3510 is stopped and the terminal device successfully accesses the network. If the terminal device still does not receive any response message, such as a registration accept or registration reject, when T3510 times out, the terminal device fails to send the registration request message, that is, the message is not sent successfully. The terminal device can start other timers for the terminal device to re-initiate the registration process.

[0177] For example, after sending a registration accept to the terminal device, the AMF can start the NAS timer T3550. If the AMF receives a registration complete message from the terminal device during the T3550 timing process, the AMF stops T3550 and the terminal device network access process is completed. If the AMF still does not receive the registration complete message when T3550 times out, the terminal device fails to join the network or the registration accept fails to be sent. The AMF can start other timers for the terminal device to re-initiate the registration process.

[0178] It should be noted that if the AMF does not need to receive the registration completion message, the AMF does not start the NAS timer T3550.

[0179] The above briefly explains the basic concepts involved in this application, which will not be repeated in the following embodiments.

[0180] In addition, in order to facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the following points are first explained.

[0181] First, in this application, "used to indicate" can include being used to indicate directly or indirectly. When describing that a certain indication information is used to indicate A, it can include whether the indication information directly indicates A or indirectly indicates A, and does not necessarily mean that the indication information contains A.

[0182] Second, "at least one" shown in the present application refers to one or more, and "more" refers to two or more. In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, "first", "second" and various digital numbers (for example, "#1", "#2", etc.) are only for the convenience of description and are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application. The size of the sequence number of each process below does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application. It should be understood that the objects described in this way can be interchanged under appropriate circumstances so as to be able to describe solutions other than the embodiments of the present application. In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "S510" are only identifications made for the convenience of description and do not limit the order of execution steps.

[0183] Third, in the embodiments of this application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or explanations. Any embodiment or design described in this application as "exemplary" or "for example" should not be construed as being preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a concrete manner.

[0184] Fourth, in the embodiments of the present application, "of", "corresponding, relevant", "corresponding" and "associate" can sometimes be used interchangeably. It should be pointed out that when the distinction between them is not emphasized, the meanings they intend to express are consistent.

[0185] Fifth, in the embodiments of the present application, "under the circumstances", "when", and "if" can sometimes be used interchangeably. It should be pointed out that when the distinction between them is not emphasized, the meanings they intend to express are consistent.

[0186] Sixth, the term "and / or" in this document simply describes a relationship between related objects, indicating that three possible relationships exist. For example, "A and / or B" can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, or B exists alone. Furthermore, the character " / " in this document generally indicates that the related objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0187] The above, in conjunction with Figure 1, briefly introduces the scenarios in which the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be applied, as well as the basic concepts that may be involved in the embodiment of the present application. In the basic concepts, the discontinuous coverage of the access connection, the discontinuous coverage of the feed connection, and the NAS timer are introduced.

[0188] Currently, in the scenario where the terminal device accesses the core network via satellite, the duration of the NAS timer maintained on the terminal device side is 27 seconds (seconds, s), and the duration of the NAS timer maintained on the AMF side is 11 seconds.

[0189] Specifically, in the case of discontinuous coverage of the access connection and the feeder connection, the current design of the NAS timer may affect the accuracy of the device (e.g., the terminal device and / or the AMF) in determining whether the non-access layer signaling is successfully transmitted. For example, due to discontinuous coverage of the feeder connection (or in other words, the feeder connection is not always available), the signaling interaction between the terminal device and the terrestrial core network takes a long time.

[0190] Taking the registration process shown in Figure 4 as an example, during the terminal device registration process, when the terminal device is within satellite access coverage, the registration request message sent by the terminal device is buffered on the satellite until a feed connection is established. The satellite then forwards the registration request message to the AMF. This means that due to discontinuous feed connection coverage, the registration request message may not reach the AMF in a timely manner. Similarly, discontinuous access connection coverage may also prevent the registration accept message sent by the AMF from reaching the terminal device in a timely manner.

[0191] In view of the above situation, due to the discontinuous coverage of the feeding connection, the terminal device is unlikely to receive the registration acceptance message sent by the AMF before the timer T3510 times out. The terminal device will fail to join the network and will re-initiate the registration process, which will not only cause the registration to be completed in time, but also generate unnecessary signaling overhead.

[0192] Therefore, the embodiment provided by the present application introduces the discontinuous coverage duration of the access connection and the discontinuous coverage duration of the feeding connection when setting the duration of the NAS timer maintained on the terminal device side.

[0193] For example, when the AMF in the ground core network receives a registration request message from a terminal device, the AMF sends a registration accept message to the terminal device and starts the NAS timer maintained by the AMF. Due to discontinuous coverage of the access connection and the discontinuous coverage of the feeder connection, the AMF is unable to send the registration accept message to the terminal device in a timely manner; and the terminal device is unable to send the registration complete message to the AMF in a timely manner.

[0194] Therefore, the embodiment provided in the present application introduces the discontinuous coverage duration of the access connection and the discontinuous coverage duration of the feeder connection when setting the duration of the NAS timer maintained on the AMF side.

[0195] The present application provides a communication method for setting an appropriate timer duration in a scenario where discontinuous coverage occurs.

[0196] The technical solution provided by the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments of the present application can be applied to a variety of different scenarios, including the scenario shown in FIG1 , but is not limited to this scenario.

[0197] 5 takes the interaction between a terminal device and a network device as an example to illustrate the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application in detail. The network device includes an access network device and a core network device.

[0198] It should be understood that the embodiments shown below do not particularly limit the specific structure of the execution subject of the method provided in the embodiments of the present application. As long as it is possible to communicate according to the method provided in the embodiments of the present application by running a program that records the code of the method provided in the embodiments of the present application, for example, the execution subject of the method provided in the embodiments of the present application can be a terminal device and a network device, or a functional module in the terminal device and the network device that can call and execute the program.

[0199] Figure 5 shows a schematic flow chart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. The communication method is applied to a communication system in which a terminal device accesses a core network via a satellite.

[0200] The communication method comprises the following steps:

[0201] S510, the terminal device obtains non-coverage duration information.

[0202] The coverage duration information may be used to indicate the duration of time the reference point is not under satellite coverage. The reference point may be understood as a location point such as a geographical location or a geographical area, without limitation.

[0203] It can be understood that the non-coverage duration information can be used to indicate the duration during which the reference point is not under satellite coverage.

[0204] For example, the reference point is not covered by the satellite during duration #1 and duration #2, and the non-coverage duration may be the sum of duration #1 and duration #2, or the non-coverage duration may be the maximum value between duration #1 and duration #2, or the non-coverage duration may be the average value of duration #1 and duration #2, or the corresponding satellite non-coverage duration when the terminal device obtains the discontinuous coverage duration information, etc.

[0205] In one example, the reference point may include a first reference point and a second reference point, and the non-coverage duration information may include information about the first duration and information about the second duration. The first duration may be the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the first reference point, and the second duration may be the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection corresponding to the second reference point.

[0206] In another example, the reference point may include a first reference point and a second reference point, and the non-coverage duration information may include the sum of the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the first reference point and the non-coverage duration of the feed connection corresponding to the second reference point.

[0207] It should be noted that the first reference point and the second reference point may be the same or different, without limitation.

[0208] In the case where the first reference point and the second reference point are the same, the first reference point and the second reference point may be a certain area where both the terminal device and the gateway exist.

[0209] Optionally, the first reference point includes at least one of the following: a location of the terminal device, a location of the first gateway, an area in which the first gateway is located, or an area in which the terminal device is located. The first gateway may be a designated gateway among at least one gateway deployed by a satellite constellation, the location or area in which the first gateway is located may be preconfigured, and the terminal device is the aforementioned terminal device for obtaining coverage-free duration information.

[0210] If the first reference point is the location of the terminal device, the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the first reference point is the non-coverage duration of the access connection between the terminal device and the satellite. For example, if the first reference point is the location of terminal device #1, and the non-coverage duration of the access connection between terminal device #1 and the satellite is duration #1, then the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the first reference point is duration #1.

[0211] If the first reference point is the area where the terminal device is located, the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the first reference point is the maximum, average, weighted average, etc., of the non-coverage durations of the access connections between all the terminal devices in the area and the satellite. The area where the terminal device is located can be a geographical location, a cell, or a TA. For example, the first reference point is area #1 where terminal device #1 is located. Terminal device #1 is located in area #1, and terminal devices #2 and #3 are also located in area #1. The non-coverage duration of the access connection between terminal device #1 and the satellite is duration #1, the non-coverage duration of the access connection between terminal device #2 and the satellite is duration #2, and the non-coverage duration of the access connection between terminal device #3 and the satellite is duration #3. The non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the first reference point is the maximum duration among duration #1, duration #2, and duration #3; or the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the first reference point is the average of duration #1, duration #2, and duration #3.

[0212] If the first reference point is the location of the first gateway, the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the first reference point is the non-coverage duration of the access connection between the terminal device and the satellite at the location of the first gateway. For example, if the first reference point is the location of the first gateway, the non-coverage duration of the access connection between terminal device #2 and the satellite at the location of the first gateway is duration #2, and the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the first reference point is duration #2.

[0213] If the first reference point is the area where the first gateway is located, the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the first reference point is the maximum, average, weighted average, etc., of the non-coverage durations of the access connections between all terminal devices in the area and the satellite. The area where the first gateway is located can be a geographical location, a cell, or a TA. For example, the first reference point is area #2 where gateway #1 is located. Terminal device #1 is located in area #2. Terminal devices #2 and #3 also exist in area #2. The non-coverage duration of the access connection between terminal device #1 and the satellite is duration #1, the non-coverage duration of the access connection between terminal device #2 and the satellite is duration #2, and the non-coverage duration of the access connection between terminal device #3 and the satellite is duration #3. The non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the first reference point is the maximum duration among duration #1, duration #2, and duration #3; or, the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the first reference point is the average of duration #1, duration #2, and duration #3.

[0214] Optionally, the second reference point includes at least one of the following: a location of the terminal device, a location of the first gateway, an area in which the first gateway is located, or an area in which the terminal device is located. The first gateway may be a designated gateway among at least one gateway deployed by a satellite constellation, the location or area in which the first gateway is located may be preconfigured, and the terminal device is the aforementioned terminal device for obtaining coverage-free duration information.

[0215] If the second reference point is the location of the terminal device, the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection corresponding to the second reference point is the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection between the gateway and the satellite at the location of the terminal device. For example, if the second reference point is the location of terminal device #1, and the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection between the gateway and the satellite at the location of terminal device #1 is duration #1, the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection corresponding to the second reference point is duration #1.

[0216] If the second reference point is the area where the terminal device is located, the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection corresponding to the second reference point is the maximum, average, weighted average, etc., of the non-coverage durations of the feeder connections between all gateways and the satellite in the area. The area where the terminal device is located can be a geographic location, a cell, or a TA. For example, the second reference point is area #1 where terminal device #1 is located. Gateway #1 is located in area #1, and gateways #2 and #3 also exist in area #1. The non-coverage duration of the feeder connection between gateway #1 and the satellite is duration #1, the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection between gateway #2 and the satellite is duration #2, and the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection between gateway #3 and the satellite is duration #3. The non-coverage duration of the feeder connection corresponding to the second reference point is the maximum duration among duration #1, duration #2, and duration #3; or, the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection corresponding to the second reference point is the average of duration #1, duration #2, and duration #3.

[0217] If the second reference point is the location of the first gateway, the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection corresponding to the second reference point is the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection between the first gateway and the satellite. For example, if the second reference point is the location of the first gateway, the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection between the first gateway and the satellite is duration #2, and the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection corresponding to the second reference point is duration #2.

[0218] If the second reference point is the area where the first gateway is located, the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection corresponding to the second reference point is the maximum value, average value, weighted average value, etc. of the non-coverage durations of the feeder connections between all gateways in the area and the satellite, respectively. The area where the first gateway is located can be a geographical location, a cell, or a TA. For example, the second reference point is area #2 where gateway #1 is located. Gateway #1 is located in area #2, and gateways #2 and #3 also exist in area #2. The non-coverage duration of the feeder connection between gateway station #1 and the satellite is duration #1, the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection between gateway station #2 and the satellite is duration #2, and the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection between gateway station #3 and the satellite is duration #3. The non-coverage duration of the feeder connection corresponding to the second reference point is the maximum duration among duration #1, duration #2, and duration #3; or, the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection corresponding to the second reference point is the average of duration #1, duration #2, and duration #3.

[0219] In this embodiment, the non-coverage duration information indicates the non-coverage duration of the access connection and the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection. For example, the non-coverage duration information includes two parts: information about the first duration and information about the second duration. For another example, the non-coverage duration information includes one part: information about the sum of the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the first reference point and the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection corresponding to the second reference point.

[0220] Among them, the first duration can be the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to a certain reference point (for distinction, called the first reference point), and the second duration can be the non-coverage duration of the feeding connection corresponding to a certain reference point (for distinction, called the second reference point).

[0221] The non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the first reference point can be understood as the non-coverage duration of the access connection between the terminal device at the first reference point and the satellite. For example, the terminal device at the first reference point includes terminal device #1. The non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the first reference point is: the duration during which no access connection exists between terminal device #1 and the satellite. The access connection refers to the connection between terminal device #1 and the satellite, or in other words, the access connection refers to terminal device #1 being covered by the satellite and provided with services by the satellite. It can be understood that the term "satellite" here is a general term and can refer to one or more satellites in a satellite constellation.

[0222] The non-coverage duration of the feeder connection corresponding to the second reference point can be understood as the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection between the gateway at the second reference point and the satellite. For example, if the gateway at the second reference point is gateway #1, the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection corresponding to the second reference point is the duration of the non-existence of the feeder connection between gateway #1 and the satellite. A feeder connection refers to the connection between gateway #1 and the satellite, or in other words, a feeder connection refers to a satellite being served by gateway #1 or gateway #1 being served by a satellite. It should be understood that the term "satellite" here is a general term and can refer to one or more satellites in a satellite constellation.

[0223] It should be understood that the information about the first duration includes, but is not limited to, the first duration or information related to the first duration. For example, the information about the first duration is the first duration itself, or the information about the first duration is information indicating the first duration, used to indicate the first duration. Similarly, the information about the second duration includes, but is not limited to, the second duration or information related to the second duration. For example, the information about the second duration is the second duration itself, or the information about the second duration is information indicating the second duration, used to indicate the second duration.

[0224] In addition, it should be noted that the first duration is the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the first reference point. It is only an example and does not constitute any limitation on the scope of protection of this application. For example, the first duration may also include the following possible value methods:

[0225] As a possible implementation, the reference point includes at least one reference point, and the non-coverage duration information includes information of a first duration. The first duration may be the largest non-coverage duration of the access connections corresponding to the at least one reference point.

[0226] For example, the reference points include reference point #1_1, reference point #2_1, and reference point #3_1. The non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to reference point #1_1 is duration #1_1, the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to reference point #2_1 is duration #2_1, and the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to reference point #3_1 is duration #3_1. The first duration is the maximum value among duration #1_1, duration #2_1, and duration #3_1.

[0227] As another possible implementation, the reference point includes at least one reference point, and the non-coverage duration information includes information of a first duration. The first duration may be an average or weighted average of non-coverage durations of access connections corresponding to the at least one reference point.

[0228] For example, the reference points include reference point #1_1, reference point #2_1, and reference point #3_1. The non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to reference point #1_1 is duration #1_1, the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to reference point #2_1 is duration #2_1, and the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to reference point #3_1 is duration #3_1. The first duration is the average or weighted average of duration #1_1, duration #2_1, and duration #3_1.

[0229] As another possible implementation, the reference point includes at least one reference point, and the non-coverage duration information includes information of a first duration. The first duration may be the smallest non-coverage duration of access connections corresponding to the at least one reference point.

[0230] For example, the reference points include reference point #1_1, reference point #2_1, and reference point #3_1. The non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to reference point #1_1 is duration #1_1, the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to reference point #2_1 is duration #2_1, and the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to reference point #3_1 is duration #3_1. The first duration is the minimum value among duration #1_1, duration #2_1, and duration #3_1.

[0231] As another possible implementation, the reference point includes at least one reference point, and the non-coverage duration information includes information of a first duration. The first duration may be a value that appears most frequently among the non-coverage durations of the access connections corresponding to the at least one reference point.

[0232] For example, the reference points include reference point #1_1, reference point #2_1, and reference point #3_1. The non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to reference point #1_1 is duration #1_1, the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to reference point #2_1 is duration #2_1, and the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to reference point #3_1 is duration #3_1. Duration #1_1 is equal to duration #2_1, and the first duration is duration #1_1.

[0233] Similarly, the second duration is the non-coverage duration of the feed connection corresponding to the second reference point, which is only an example and does not constitute any limitation on the scope of protection of this application. For example, the second duration may also include the following possible value methods:

[0234] As a possible implementation, the reference point includes at least one reference point, and the non-coverage duration information includes information of a second duration. The second duration may be the largest non-coverage duration of the feeder connections corresponding to the at least one reference point.

[0235] For example, the reference points include reference point #1_2, reference point #2_2, and reference point #3_2. The non-coverage duration of the feeder connection corresponding to reference point #1_2 is duration #1_2, the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection corresponding to reference point #2_2 is duration #2_2, and the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection corresponding to reference point #3_2 is duration #3_2. The second duration is the maximum of duration #1_2, duration #2_2, and duration #3_2.

[0236] As another possible implementation, the reference point includes at least one reference point, and the non-coverage duration information includes information of a second duration. The second duration may be an average or weighted average of the non-coverage durations of the feeder connections corresponding to the at least one reference point.

[0237] For example, the reference points include reference point #1_2, reference point #2_2, and reference point #3_2. The non-coverage duration of the feeder connection corresponding to reference point #1_2 is duration #1_2, the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection corresponding to reference point #2_2 is duration #2_2, and the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection corresponding to reference point #3_2 is duration #3_2. The second duration is the average or weighted average of duration #1_2, duration #2_2, and duration #3_2.

[0238] As another possible implementation, the reference point includes at least one reference point, and the non-coverage duration information includes information of a second duration. The second duration may be the smallest of the non-coverage durations of the feeder connections corresponding to the at least one reference point.

[0239] For example, the reference points include reference point #1_2, reference point #2_2, and reference point #3_2. The non-coverage duration of the feeder connection corresponding to reference point #1_2 is duration #1_2, the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection corresponding to reference point #2_2 is duration #2_2, and the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection corresponding to reference point #3_2 is duration #3_2. The second duration is the minimum of duration #1_2, duration #2_2, and duration #3_2.

[0240] As another possible implementation, the reference point includes at least one reference point, and the non-coverage duration information includes information of a second duration. The second duration may be a value that appears most frequently among the non-coverage durations of the feeder connections corresponding to the at least one reference point.

[0241] For example, the reference points include reference point #1_2, reference point #2_2, and reference point #3_2. The non-coverage duration of the feeder connection corresponding to reference point #1_2 is duration #1_2, the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection corresponding to reference point #2_2 is duration #2_2, and the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection corresponding to reference point #3_2 is duration #3_2. Duration #1_2 is equal to duration #2_2, and the second duration is duration #1_2.

[0242] In this embodiment, the terminal device can obtain the non-coverage duration information in a variety of different ways. The following will describe in detail how the terminal device obtains the non-coverage duration information in conjunction with Figures 6 to 9, which will not be described in detail here.

[0243] S520: The terminal device determines the duration of the first timer based on the non-coverage duration information.

[0244] The first timer can be used by the terminal device to send a message to the core network device via a satellite. Specifically, the first timer can be a timer such as T3510, T3511, or T3517 defined by the 3GPP protocol. The first timer can be a timer maintained by the terminal device during the registration process, such as T3510 or T3511; the first timer can be a timer maintained by the terminal device during the service request process, such as T3517.

[0245] Specifically, the first timer is maintained by the terminal device, and the terminal device can determine the success or failure of sending the message to the core network device based on the timeout of the first timer. The terminal device can also determine the action to be performed after sending the message to the core network device via the satellite based on the timeout of the first timer.

[0246] In this embodiment, the terminal device takes the non-coverage duration into consideration when setting the duration of the first timer, thereby solving the problem of unreasonable duration setting of the first timer.

[0247] In an optional implementation, step S520 may be performed by the terminal device based on first indication information provided by the access network device. For example, the terminal device receives first indication information from the access network device, and step S520 is performed when the first indication information is used to instruct the terminal device to determine the duration of the first timer based on the non-coverage duration, or is used to indicate that the terminal device is in a discontinuous coverage scenario.

[0248] The discontinuous coverage scenario may include a discontinuous coverage scenario of an access connection and / or a discontinuous coverage scenario of a feeding connection.

[0249] In another optional implementation, if the terminal device can determine that it is in a discontinuous coverage scenario, step S520 is performed. For example, the terminal device determines that the terminal device is in a discontinuous coverage scenario based on satellite-related information (e.g., satellite identification, satellite constellation characteristics, etc.). The satellite-related information can be obtained from the access network device or a third-party device, without limitation.

[0250] The non-coverage duration information may include information about the first duration and information about the second duration. Further, step S520 may include: the terminal device determining the duration of the first timer based on the preset duration of the first timer, the information about the first duration, and the information about the second duration. The preset duration of the first timer may be the duration of the first timer predefined in the 3GPP protocol and is not limited.

[0251] Specifically, the duration of the first timer may be greater than or equal to the sum of the preset duration of the first timer, the first duration, and the second duration.

[0252] Exemplarily, if the first timer is the NAS timer T3510, the duration of the first timer is ≥ 27s + the first duration + the second duration.

[0253] In this embodiment, before sending a message to a core network device via satellite, the terminal device obtains coverage absence information and, based on this coverage absence information, determines the duration of time the reference point was not in satellite coverage. Furthermore, when setting the duration of a first timer, the duration of time the reference point was not in satellite coverage is taken into account. Thus, the terminal device can determine the success or failure of the message sent to the core network device via satellite based on the first timer, thereby improving the accuracy of the terminal device's determination.

[0254] Optionally, based on the above embodiment, after step S520, the following steps are further included:

[0255] S530, the terminal device sends a first request message to the core network device via the satellite and starts a first timer.

[0256] Specifically, when the terminal device sends a first request message to the core network device via the satellite, the first timer is started.

[0257] The first request message may be used to request to establish a connection with a core network device.

[0258] Further, after step S530, the method may further include: if the terminal device receives a first response message from the core network device in response to the first request message before the first timer times out, the terminal device stops the first timer; and / or,

[0259] If the terminal device has not received the first response message in response to the first request message from the core network device when the first timer times out, the terminal device terminates establishing a connection with the core network device.

[0260] Exemplarily, the first request message is a registration request message. For example, the terminal device sends an RRC setup completion message to the satellite, and the RRC setup completion message carries the registration request message sent by the terminal device to the core network device.

[0261] It should be noted that the RRC establishment completion message may also include other information (such as the selected land public mobile communication network (Public Land Mobile Network, PLMN) identifier, network slice list, etc.). This embodiment does not limit the specific content carried in the RRC establishment completion message and the specific content carried in the registration request message. This embodiment mainly involves the terminal device determining the duration of the first timer, and determining whether the first message is sent successfully based on the timeout of the first timer.

[0262] Optionally, the first request message is a registration request message, and the first response message is a registration acceptance or registration rejection message. It should be understood that, in the case where the first request message is a registration request message, if the terminal device receives a first response message from the core network device in response to the first request message before the first timer expires, it can be understood that: the terminal device determines that the registration is successful or the first request message is sent successfully; if the terminal device still does not receive the first response message from the core network device in response to the first request message when the first timer expires, it can be understood that: the terminal device determines that the registration has failed or the first request message has failed to be sent.

[0263] Optionally, the first request message is a service request message, and the first response message is a service acceptance message.

[0264] In the embodiment shown in Figure 5, when the terminal device accesses the core network via a satellite, the terminal device sends a first request message to the core network device via the satellite and starts a first timer. Based on the timeout of the first timer, it is determined whether the first request message is sent successfully. For example, before the first timer times out, the terminal device receives a first response message from the core network device, and stops the first timer.

[0265] Since the non-coverage situation of the satellite varies with time and location, the terminal device in the embodiment shown in FIG5 takes the non-coverage duration into consideration when determining the duration of the first timer, thereby avoiding the terminal device determining an inappropriate first timer duration.

[0266] It should be understood that in the communication method shown in Figure 5, the first timer is used by the terminal device to send a message to the core network device via the satellite. This is only an example and does not constitute any limitation on the scope of protection of this application. The terminal device can also consider the non-coverage duration when determining the duration of other timers. For example, the first timer is an AS timer, and the terminal device can also consider the impact of the non-coverage duration when determining the duration of the AS timer (such as an air interface timer).

[0267] Specifically, the air interface timer is used to manage the air interface connection between the terminal device and the access network device. The air interface timer can be T310. When the terminal device detects a physical layer problem (such as an RRC link disconnection), T310 is started. During the operation of T310, if the RRC link is restored, T310 is stopped. When T310 times out, the terminal device releases the current RRC connection or starts the RRC connection re-establishment process. That is, when T310 times out, the terminal device considers that the RRC link has failed, thereby starting the above-mentioned action release or re-establishment process.

[0268] It should be understood that due to the discontinuous coverage of the satellite (such as discontinuous coverage of the access connection and / or discontinuous coverage of the feed connection), the following scenario will occur: when there is coverage of the access connection (that is, the access network device #1 can provide access services for the terminal device), the terminal device initiates the RRC connection establishment process with the access network device #1. However, as the satellite moves, the access network device #1 cannot provide access services to the terminal device, that is, it enters discontinuous coverage of the access connection. At this time, the terminal device starts T310. When T310 times out, the terminal device will initiate the release or re-establishment of the RRC connection, resulting in the terminal device being unable to complete the network access process.

[0269] If the T310 duration does not take into account the non-coverage duration, the T310 duration may be set shorter (for example, set to a duration predefined by the protocol), so that the terminal device initiates the release or reconstruction of the RRC connection, resulting in a high probability that the terminal device cannot complete the network access process.

[0270] If the T310 duration takes into account the non-coverage duration, the T310 duration is set longer than the duration predefined by the protocol, thereby reducing the probability that the terminal device initiates the release or reconstruction of the RRC connection due to T310 timeout and fails to complete the network access process.

[0271] Exemplarily, the terminal device can determine that the non-coverage duration needs to be considered when setting the duration of the first timer based on the indication information provided by the access network device. For example, the access network device sends information to the terminal device indicating that the terminal device is in a non-continuous coverage scenario; or, the terminal device itself determines that it is accessing a non-continuous coverage scenario.

[0272] It should be noted that when the first timer is an AS timer, the terminal device needs to obtain the first duration (ie, the discontinuous coverage duration of the access connection) and determine the duration of the first timer based on the first duration.

[0273] As a possible implementation manner, the manner in which the terminal device obtains the first duration may refer to the manner in which the terminal device obtains the first duration in the above-mentioned step S510, which will not be repeated here.

[0274] As another possible implementation method, the terminal device may obtain the first duration by estimating the first duration based on the operating cycle of the satellite (i.e., the access network device to which the terminal device accesses). For example, the satellite operating cycle is duration #1, and the first duration estimated by the terminal device is less than or equal to duration #1.

[0275] Furthermore, after the terminal device obtains the first duration, it determines the duration of the first timer based on the first duration. For example, the duration of the first timer may be greater than or equal to the sum of the preset duration of the first timer and the first duration.

[0276] In addition, when the first timer is an AS timer, after the terminal device determines the duration of the first timer, the terminal device controls the release or re-establishment of the RRC connection according to the duration of the first timer, instead of executing the above-mentioned step S530.

[0277] In this application,

[0278] Exemplarily, step S510 may be implemented by way 1 to way 4, as described in detail below.

[0279] Method 1: Step S510 includes: the terminal device receives non-coverage duration information from the access network device.

[0280] For ease of understanding, method 1 is described in detail below with reference to FIG6 .

[0281] FIG6 shows a schematic diagram of a terminal device obtaining non-coverage duration information provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0282] S610: The access network device determines non-coverage duration information.

[0283] The access network device may be the access network device serving the terminal device shown in FIG5 , and the access network device may be located on a satellite or on the ground.

[0284] For the description related to the non-coverage duration information, reference may be made to the description of the non-coverage duration information in the embodiment shown in FIG5 , which will not be repeated here.

[0285] In a possible implementation manner, the access network device determines the non-coverage duration information based on ephemeris information.

[0286] The ephemeris information may be used to indicate or determine the discontinuous coverage condition of the access connection (or referred to as the coverage condition of the access connection).

[0287] Specifically, the access network device determining the first duration based on the ephemeris information may include: the access network device determining the first duration based on discontinuous coverage of the access connection. The discontinuous coverage of the access connection may be determined based on traditional ephemeris information in the ephemeris information, or may be determined based on satellite coverage information in the ephemeris information, without limitation.

[0288] Exemplarily, the access network device determining the first duration information based on the ephemeris information includes: the access network device determining, based on the ephemeris information, a non-coverage duration of an access connection corresponding to at least one reference point; and determining, based on the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the at least one reference point, that the first duration information is information about the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the first reference point. The non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the first reference point is the maximum of the non-coverage durations of the access connections corresponding to the at least one reference point.

[0289] To facilitate understanding, a specific example is used to illustrate how the access network device determines the first duration:

[0290] Example 1: The access network device determines the first duration.

[0291] At position #1 (or reference point #1), the discontinuous coverage duration of the access connection is 5 hours; at position #2, the discontinuous coverage duration of the access connection is 6 hours; ...; at position #n, the discontinuous coverage duration of the access connection is 7 hours.

[0292] In Example 1, to ensure that the first duration determined by the access network device includes the discontinuous coverage durations of the access connections at different locations, the first duration determined by the access network device is 7 hours. The first duration can be understood as the maximum discontinuous coverage duration of the access connection among the discontinuous coverage durations of the multiple access connections corresponding to the multiple locations.

[0293] It should be noted that the above example 1 merely provides one possible method for determining the first duration for ease of understanding and does not limit the scope of protection of this application. The first duration may also be determined by other methods. For example, the first duration may be the average, minimum, or weighted average of the non-coverage durations of access connections corresponding to at least one reference point. This description will not be repeated here.

[0294] Exemplarily, the ephemeris information is used to indicate or determine the discontinuous coverage of the feeder connection (or referred to as the coverage of the feeder connection). The access network device determines the information of the second duration based on the ephemeris information, including: the access network device determines the information of the second duration based on the discontinuous coverage of the feeder connection. The discontinuous coverage of the feeder connection can be determined based on traditional ephemeris information and gateway deployment information in the ephemeris information; or, the discontinuous coverage of the feeder connection can be determined based on satellite coverage information in the ephemeris information.

[0295] Exemplarily, the access network device determines the information of the second duration based on the ephemeris information, including: the access network device determines the non-coverage duration of the feed connection corresponding to at least one reference point based on the ephemeris information; and determines that the information of the second duration is the information of the non-coverage duration of the feed connection corresponding to the second reference point based on the non-coverage duration of the feed connection corresponding to the at least one reference point, wherein the non-coverage duration of the feed connection corresponding to the second reference point is the largest of the non-coverage durations of the feed connection corresponding to the at least one reference point.

[0296] To facilitate understanding, a specific example is used to illustrate how the access network device determines the second duration:

[0297] Example 2: The access network device determines the second duration.

[0298] The satellite constellation deploys three ground gateways (e.g., GW#1, GW#2, and GW#3), which correspond to three locations, respectively. For example, GW#1 corresponds to GW-location#1, GW#2 corresponds to GW-location#2, and GW#3 corresponds to GW-location#3.

[0299] Specifically, the feeding connection coverage of GW#1 is that there is feeding connection coverage from 9:00-10:00 and 15:00-18:00, that is, the feeding connection coverage time is 1 hour and 3 hours respectively, and the corresponding feeding connection non-coverage time is 20 hours; the feeding connection coverage of GW#2 is: there is feeding connection coverage from 11:00-12:30, that is, the feeding connection coverage time is 1.5 hours, and the corresponding feeding connection non-coverage time is 22.5 hours; the feeding connection coverage of GW#3 is that there is feeding connection coverage from 13:00-14:00, that is, the feeding connection coverage time is 2 hours, and the corresponding feeding connection non-coverage time is 22 hours.

[0300] In the case shown in Example 2, to ensure that the second duration determined by the access network device includes the non-coverage durations of the feeder connections of the three gateways, the second duration determined by the access network device is 22.5 hours. The second duration can be understood as the maximum non-coverage duration of the feeder connection among the non-coverage durations of the multiple feeder connections corresponding to the multiple gateways.

[0301] It should be noted that the above-mentioned Example 2 merely provides one possible method for determining the second duration for ease of understanding and does not limit the scope of protection of this application. The second duration may also be determined by other methods. For example, the second duration may be the average, minimum, or weighted average of the non-coverage durations of the access connections corresponding to at least one reference point. This will not be further elaborated here.

[0302] S620: The access network device sends non-coverage duration information to the terminal device.

[0303] In this embodiment, the non-coverage duration information includes information about the first duration and the second duration; alternatively, the non-coverage duration information includes information about the sum of the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the first reference point and the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection corresponding to the second reference point. For a description of reference points, please refer to the description of reference points in the embodiment shown in FIG. Such description is omitted here.

[0304] As a possible implementation method, step S620 includes: the access network device sends a broadcast message to the terminal device, and the broadcast message includes non-coverage duration information, that is, the access network device provides the non-coverage duration information to the terminal device by broadcasting.

[0305] In this implementation, the access network device may provide the terminal device with non-coverage duration information before the terminal device requests access to the core network.

[0306] As another possible implementation method, step S620 includes: the access network device sends an RRC connection reconfiguration message to the terminal device, and the RRC connection reconfiguration message includes non-coverage duration information, that is, the access network device provides the non-coverage duration information to the terminal device during the RRC connection establishment process.

[0307] In this implementation, the access network device can provide the non-coverage duration information to the terminal device after the terminal device initiates a network access request. For example, after the terminal device sends an RRC establishment completion message to the access network device, the access network device determines that a discontinuous coverage scenario exists, that is, discontinuous coverage of the access connection and / or feeder connection exists. The access network device can provide the non-coverage duration information to the terminal device via an RRC connection reconfiguration message.

[0308] In the manner in which the terminal device obtains the non-coverage duration information shown in FIG6 , the terminal device can directly receive the non-coverage duration information from the access network device, and the access network device calculates the non-coverage duration information, thereby simplifying the operation of the terminal device.

[0309] Mode 2: Non-coverage duration information includes first duration information and second duration information. Step S510 includes: the terminal device receives the first duration information from the access network device, and the terminal device determines the second duration information based on the ephemeris information.

[0310] For ease of understanding, method 2 is described in detail below with reference to FIG. 7 .

[0311] FIG7 shows a schematic diagram of another terminal device obtaining non-coverage duration information provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0312] S710: The access network device determines information about a first duration.

[0313] The manner in which the access network device determines the information of the first duration may refer to the manner in which the access network device determines the information of the first duration according to the ephemeris information in the above step S610, and will not be described in detail.

[0314] S720: The access network device sends information of the first duration to the terminal device.

[0315] As a possible implementation method, step S720 includes: the access network device sends a broadcast message to the terminal device, where the broadcast message includes information of the first duration, that is, the access network device provides the information of the first duration to the terminal device by broadcasting.

[0316] In this implementation, the access network device may provide the terminal device with information about the first duration before the terminal device requests access to the core network.

[0317] As another possible implementation method, step S720 includes: the access network device sends an RRC connection reconfiguration message to the terminal device, and the RRC connection reconfiguration message includes information about the first duration, that is, the access network device provides the terminal device with information about the first duration during the RRC connection establishment process.

[0318] In this implementation, the access network device may provide the terminal device with information about the first duration after the terminal device initiates a network access request. For example, after the terminal device sends an RRC establishment completion message to the access network device, the access network device determines that there is discontinuous coverage between the access connection and the feeder connection, and the access network device may provide the terminal device with information about the first duration via an RRC connection reconfiguration message.

[0319] S730: The terminal device obtains ephemeris information.

[0320] As a possible implementation manner, step S730 includes: the terminal device receives ephemeris information from the access network device.

[0321] It should be understood that, in the case of determining the information of the second duration, the ephemeris information includes traditional ephemeris information and deployment information of the gateway.

[0322] Optionally, the access network device sends a broadcast message to the terminal device, where the broadcast message includes ephemeris information.

[0323] Optionally, the access network device sends an RRC connection reconfiguration message to the terminal device, where the RRC connection reconfiguration message includes ephemeris information.

[0324] It can be understood that in this implementation, the access network device provides the terminal device with information of the first duration and ephemeris information.

[0325] As another possible implementation, step S730 includes: the terminal device receives ephemeris information from the core network device. Specifically, the terminal device receives a short message sent by the core network device, the short message including the ephemeris information.

[0326] As another possible implementation, step S730 includes: the terminal device obtains the ephemeris information through the user plane. Specifically, the terminal device obtains the ephemeris information from a third-party application server through the user plane.

[0327] As another possible implementation, step S730 includes: the terminal device is locally configured with ephemeris information.

[0328] S740, the terminal device determines information of the second duration based on the ephemeris information.

[0329] Information on how the terminal device determines the second duration based on the ephemeris information can refer to the information on how the access network device determines the second duration based on the ephemeris information in step S610 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0330] It should be noted that, in the embodiment shown in FIG7 , the terminal device determines the information of the second duration based on the acquired ephemeris information. As described above, the information of the second duration can be determined based on the traditional ephemeris information and the deployment information of the gateway in the ephemeris information, that is, the ephemeris information acquired in the above step S730 includes the traditional ephemeris information and the deployment information of the gateway.

[0331] In the manner in which the terminal device obtains the non-coverage duration information shown in FIG7 , the terminal device can directly receive the information of the first duration from the access network device, obtain the ephemeris information by itself, and determine the information of the second duration based on the ephemeris information. The access network device and the terminal device respectively determine the information of the first duration and the second duration, thereby simplifying the operation of the access network device and the terminal device to a certain extent.

[0332] Mode 3: Non-coverage duration information includes first duration information and second duration information. Step S510 includes: the terminal device receives the second duration information from the access network device, and the terminal device determines the first duration information based on the ephemeris information.

[0333] For ease of understanding, method 3 is described in detail below with reference to FIG8 .

[0334] FIG8 shows a schematic diagram of another terminal device obtaining non-coverage duration information provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0335] S810: The access network device determines information about a second duration.

[0336] The manner in which the access network device determines the information of the second duration may refer to the manner in which the access network device determines the information of the second duration according to the ephemeris information in the above step S610, and will not be described in detail.

[0337] It should be understood that, in the case of determining the information of the second duration, the ephemeris information may include traditional ephemeris information and deployment information of the gateway.

[0338] S820: The access network device sends information of the second duration to the terminal device.

[0339] As a possible implementation method, step S820 includes: the access network device sends a broadcast message to the terminal device, where the broadcast message includes information about the second duration, that is, the access network device provides the information about the second duration to the terminal device by broadcasting.

[0340] In this implementation, the access network device may provide the terminal device with information about the second duration before the terminal device requests access to the core network.

[0341] As another possible implementation method, step S820 includes: the access network device sends an RRC connection reconfiguration message to the terminal device, and the RRC connection reconfiguration message includes information about the second duration, that is, the access network device provides the terminal device with information about the second duration during the RRC connection establishment process.

[0342] In this implementation, the access network device may provide the second duration information to the terminal device after the terminal device initiates a network access request. For example, after the terminal device sends an RRC establishment completion message to the access network device, the access network device determines that there is discontinuous coverage between the access connection and the feeder connection, and the access network device may provide the second duration information to the terminal device via an RRC connection reconfiguration message.

[0343] S830: The terminal device obtains ephemeris information.

[0344] Among them, step S830 can refer to the relevant description of the above step S730 and will not be repeated here.

[0345] It should be noted that, in this embodiment, the ephemeris information acquired by the terminal device may be different from the ephemeris information acquired by the terminal device in step S730. For example, the ephemeris information may include traditional ephemeris information.

[0346] S840, the terminal device determines information of the first duration based on the ephemeris information.

[0347] For S840 , reference may be made to the description of the access network device determining the first duration information according to the ephemeris information in the above step S610 , which will not be described in detail.

[0348] Based on the method provided in the embodiment shown in Figure 8, the terminal device can directly receive information about the second duration from the access network device, the terminal device obtains ephemeris information, and determines information about the first duration based on the ephemeris information. In other words, the access network device and the terminal device respectively determine information about the first duration and information about the second duration, which simplifies the operations of the access network device and the terminal device to a certain extent.

[0349] Method 4: Step S510 includes: the terminal device determines the non-coverage duration information according to the ephemeris information.

[0350] For ease of understanding, method 4 is described in detail below with reference to FIG9 .

[0351] FIG9 shows a schematic diagram of another terminal device obtaining non-coverage duration information provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0352] S910, the terminal device obtains ephemeris information.

[0353] Among them, S910 can refer to the relevant description of step S730 in the method shown in Figure 7 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0354] S920: The terminal device determines the non-coverage duration information based on the ephemeris information.

[0355] Exemplarily, the manner in which the terminal device determines the non-coverage duration information based on the ephemeris information can refer to the manner in which the access network device determines the non-coverage duration information based on the ephemeris information in the above step S610, which will not be repeated here.

[0356] Based on the method provided in the embodiment shown in Figure 9, the terminal device can determine the information of the first duration and the second duration without the access network device having to determine the information of the first duration and the second duration, thereby simplifying the operation of the access network device.

[0357] The above Figures 5 to 9 describe in detail how the terminal device obtains the non-coverage duration information when setting the duration of the first timer, and sets the duration of the first timer based on the non-coverage duration information, so that the terminal device sets an appropriate timing duration.

[0358] The present application also provides a communication method, in which, when a terminal device accesses a core network device via a satellite, and the core network device, after sending a first response message to the terminal device via the satellite, instructs the terminal device to return a second response message in response to the first response message, the core network device can determine whether the first response message is successfully sent based on the expiration of a second timer, and the duration of the second timer is set to take into account the non-coverage period. For ease of understanding, the communication method is described in detail below in conjunction with Figure 10.

[0359] FIG10 shows a schematic flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application, which includes the following steps:

[0360] S1010. The core network device obtains non-coverage duration information.

[0361] The non-coverage duration information may be used to indicate the duration of time the reference point is in non-coverage with the satellite. The reference point may be understood as a location point such as a geographical location or a geographical area. For details, please refer to the relevant description in the aforementioned embodiment.

[0362] Optionally, the reference point includes a third reference point and a fourth reference point, and the non-coverage duration information includes information about the third duration and information about the fourth duration, the third duration is the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the third reference point, and the fourth duration is the non-coverage duration of the feed connection corresponding to the fourth reference point, or the non-coverage duration information includes information about the sum of the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the third reference point and the non-coverage duration of the feed connection corresponding to the fourth reference point.

[0363] The third reference point and the fourth reference point may be the same or different.

[0364] Exemplarily, the third duration may be the same as or different from the first duration in the communication method shown in FIG. 5 ; similarly, the fourth duration may be the same as or different from the second duration in the communication method shown in FIG. 5 .

[0365] Illustratively, the third reference point may be the same as or different from the first reference point in the communication method shown in FIG. 5 ; similarly, the fourth reference point may be the same as or different from the second reference point in the communication method shown in FIG. 5 .

[0366] The reference point may refer to the relevant description of the communication method shown in FIG5 . For example, the third reference point includes at least one of the following: the location of the core network device, the location of the second gateway, the area where the second gateway is located, or the area where the core network device is located. The fourth reference point includes at least one of the following: the location of the core network device, the location of the second gateway, the area where the second gateway is located, or the area where the core network device is located. The core network device is the core network device described above for obtaining coverage-free duration information.

[0367] The second gateway station may be a designated gateway station among at least one gateway station deployed by the satellite constellation, the second gateway station may be a gateway station associated with the core network device among at least one gateway station deployed by the designated satellite constellation, and the location or area of ​​the second gateway station may be pre-configured.

[0368] As a possible implementation manner, step S1010 includes: the core network device receives non-coverage duration information from the operation, maintenance and management OAM device or a third party (eg, application function entity AF).

[0369] In this implementation, the OAM device or a third party determines the non-coverage duration information based on the ephemeris information and sends it to the core network device. Specifically, the method for determining the non-coverage duration information can refer to the description of determining the non-coverage duration information in step S610 in Figure 6 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0370] As another possible implementation, step S1010 includes: the core network device determines non-coverage duration information according to ephemeris information.

[0371] In this implementation, the core network device may receive the ephemeris information from the OAM device or a third party, or the core network device may be locally configured with the ephemeris information.

[0372] In this embodiment, the specific manner in which the core network device determines the non-coverage duration information based on the ephemeris information can refer to the description above of the access network device and / or terminal device determining the non-coverage duration information based on the ephemeris information. The difference is that, in the case of gateway station deployment (e.g., the reference point is the location or area where the gateway is located), the ground gateway station deployment obtained by the core network device can be a subset of the overall gateway station deployment. For example, the core network device obtains the deployment of gateway stations that can be connected to the core network device. For example, GW#1 and GW#2 can be connected to the core network device, but GW#3 is not connected to the core network device. In this case, the core network device may obtain the deployment of GW#1 and GW#2.

[0373] It should be understood that when determining information for the fourth time period, the ephemeris information includes traditional ephemeris information and gateway deployment information. The gateway deployment information is used to indicate the location of at least one gateway deployed by the satellite constellation, or the gateway deployment information is used to indicate the location of a gateway connected to a core network device among the at least one gateway deployed by the satellite constellation.

[0374] Exemplarily, the core network device determines information about a third duration and information about a fourth duration based on the ephemeris information, where the third duration is the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the third reference point, and the fourth duration is the non-coverage duration of the feed connection corresponding to the fourth reference point; wherein the non-coverage duration information includes information about the third duration and information about the fourth duration.

[0375] Exemplarily, the core network device determines information of the third duration based on ephemeris information (such as traditional ephemeris information in the ephemeris information; or satellite coverage information), including: the core network device determines the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to at least one reference point based on the ephemeris information; based on the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the at least one reference point, determines that the information of the third duration is the information of the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the third reference point, wherein the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the third reference point is the largest of the non-coverage durations of the access connection corresponding to the at least one reference point.

[0376] Exemplarily, the core network device determines information of the fourth duration based on ephemeris information (e.g., based on traditional ephemeris information and gateway deployment information in the ephemeris information; or, satellite coverage information), including: the core network device determines the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection corresponding to at least one reference point based on the ephemeris information; based on the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection corresponding to the at least one reference point, determining that the information of the fourth duration is information of the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection corresponding to the fourth reference point, wherein the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection corresponding to the fourth reference point is the largest of the non-coverage durations of the feeder connection corresponding to the at least one reference point.

[0377] S1020. The core network device determines the duration of the second timer according to the non-coverage duration information.

[0378] The second timer is used by the core network device to send a message to the terminal device via the satellite. In this embodiment, the second timer can be a timer such as T3550 defined in the 3GPP protocol. If the second timer is T3550, the second timer can be a timer maintained by the core network device during the registration process.

[0379] In this embodiment, the second timer is maintained in the core network device and is used by the core network device to send a message to the terminal device via satellite. For example, the core network device can determine the success or failure of sending the message to the terminal device based on the expiration of the second timer. In another example, the expiration of the second timer is used by the core network device to determine the action to be performed after sending the message to the terminal device via satellite.

[0380] In this embodiment, the core network device takes the non-coverage duration into consideration when setting the duration of the second timer, thereby avoiding unreasonable setting of the duration of the second timer.

[0381] As a possible implementation method, in this embodiment, the core network device can determine the duration of the second timer based on the non-coverage duration based on the third indication information provided by the OAM device or a third party. For example, before determining the duration of the second timer based on the non-coverage duration information, the core network device receives third-party indication information from the OAM device or a third party, and the third-party indication information is used to instruct the core network device to determine the duration of the second timer based on the non-coverage duration, or to indicate that the core network device is in a discontinuous coverage scenario. The discontinuous coverage scenario includes a discontinuous coverage scenario of the access connection and / or a discontinuous coverage scenario of the feeder connection.

[0382] As a possible implementation, in this embodiment, the core network device can independently determine the duration of the second timer while taking into account the non-coverage duration. In other words, the core network device can independently determine that the core network device is in a non-continuous coverage scenario without relying on the third indication information. For example, the core network device determines that the core network device is in a non-continuous coverage scenario based on satellite-related information (e.g., satellite identification, satellite constellation characteristics, etc.). The satellite-related information can come from the OAM device or a third-party device.

[0383] Exemplarily, the non-coverage duration information includes information about the third duration and information about the fourth duration. Step S1020 includes: the core network device determines the duration of the second timer based on the preset duration of the second timer, the information about the third duration, and the information about the fourth duration. The preset duration of the second timer may be a duration of the second timer predefined in the 3GPP protocol and is not limited thereto.

[0384] Optionally, the duration of the second timer is greater than or equal to the sum of the preset duration of the second timer, the third duration and the fourth duration.

[0385] For example, the second timer is the NAS timer T3550, and the duration of the second timer is ≥11s+the third duration+the fourth duration.

[0386] In this embodiment, before sending a message to a terminal device via satellite, the core network device obtains coverage duration information and, based on this coverage duration information, determines the duration of time the reference point was not in satellite coverage. Furthermore, when setting the duration of a second timer, the duration of time the reference point was not in satellite coverage is taken into account. Thus, the core network device can determine the success or failure of the message sent to the terminal device via satellite based on this second timer, thereby improving the accuracy of the core network device's determination.

[0387] Optionally, based on the above embodiment, after step S1020, the method further includes:

[0388] S1030, the core network device sends a first response message to the terminal device via the satellite and starts a second timer.

[0389] Specifically, when the core network device sends a first response message to the terminal device via the satellite, the second timer is started.

[0390] The first response message is used to respond to the connection establishment request of the terminal device.

[0391] Further, after step S103 0, it may also include: if before the second timer times out, the core network device receives a second response message from the terminal device in response to the first response message, the core network device stops the second timer; and / or,

[0392] If the core network device has not received a second response message from the terminal device in response to the first response message when the second timer times out, the core network device terminates establishing a connection with the terminal device.

[0393] Optionally, the first response message includes second indication information, and the second indication information is used to instruct the terminal device to feed back a second response message in response to the first response message after receiving the first response message.

[0394] Optionally, the first response message is a registration acceptance message, and the second response message is a registration completion message. It should be understood that if the first response message is a registration acceptance message, the core network device's determination that the first response message was sent successfully can be understood as the terminal device's determination that the registration was successful; conversely, if the core network device determines that the first response message was sent unsuccessfully, it can be understood as the terminal device's determination that the registration failed.

[0395] In the embodiment shown in Figure 10, when the terminal device accesses the core network via a satellite, the core network device sends a first response message to the terminal device via the satellite and starts a second timer. Based on the timeout of the second timer, it is determined whether the first response message is sent successfully. For example, if the second response message is received from the terminal device before the second timer times out, the core network device determines that the first response message is sent successfully. Otherwise, the first response message fails to be sent and the first response message can be resent.

[0396] Since the coverage of satellites varies with time and location, in the embodiment shown in FIG10 , the core network device takes into account the discontinuous coverage duration of the access connection and the discontinuous coverage duration of the feed connection when determining the duration of the second timer, thereby avoiding the core network device determining the second timer duration to be inappropriate, which may lead to incorrect judgment by the core network device.

[0397] It should be understood that the size of the serial numbers of the above processes does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0398] It should also be understood that in the various embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced to each other, and the technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their internal logical relationships.

[0399] It should also be understood that in some of the above embodiments, devices in existing network architectures are mainly used as examples for illustrative purposes, and it should be understood that the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific form of the devices. For example, devices that can achieve the same functions in the future are applicable to the embodiments of the present application.

[0400] It can be understood that in the above-mentioned method embodiments, the methods and operations implemented by devices (such as terminal devices, access network devices and core network devices) can also be implemented by components that can be used in the devices (such as chips or circuits).

[0401] It can also be understood that in each embodiment of the present application, the interaction between the terminal device, the access network device and the core network device is mainly used as an example for illustrative explanation. The present application is not limited to this. The satellite can be replaced by a transmitting device; the terminal device can be replaced by a receiving device.

[0402] It can also be understood that some optional features in the various embodiments of the present application may not depend on other features in certain scenarios, and may also be combined with other features in certain scenarios, without limitation.

[0403] The communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application is described in detail above, in conjunction with Figures 5 to 10. The communication method is primarily described from the perspective of interaction between terminal devices, access network devices, and core network devices. It is understood that, in order to implement the aforementioned functions, the terminal devices, access network devices, and core network devices include hardware structures and / or software modules that perform the corresponding functions.

[0404] Those skilled in the art should be aware that, in combination with the units and algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is performed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation still falls within the scope of this application.

[0405] The communication device provided in the embodiment of the present application is described in detail below with reference to Figures 11 to 13. It should be understood that the description of the device embodiment corresponds to the description of the method embodiment. Therefore, for matters not described in detail, reference can be made to the method embodiment above. For the sake of brevity, some contents are not repeated here.

[0406] The embodiment of the present application can divide the terminal equipment, access network equipment and core network equipment into functional modules according to the above method example. For example, each functional module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The above-mentioned integrated modules can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules. It should be noted that the division of modules in the embodiment of the present application is schematic and is only a logical functional division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation. The following is an example of dividing each functional module according to each function.

[0407] FIG11 shows a schematic block diagram of a communication device 10 according to an embodiment of the present application. The device 10 includes a transceiver module 11 and a processing module 12 .

[0408] Optionally, the device 10 may further include a storage module 13, which may be used to store instructions and / or data. The processing module 12 may read the instructions and / or data in the storage module so that the device implements the actions of the devices in the aforementioned method embodiments.

[0409] In one possible design, the apparatus 10 may correspond to the terminal device in the above method embodiment, or a component (such as a chip) of the terminal device.

[0410] Accordingly, the apparatus 10 can implement the steps or processes executed by the terminal device in the above method embodiment. Specifically, the transceiver module 11 can be used to perform the transceiver-related operations of the terminal device in the above method embodiment, and the processing module 12 can be used to perform the processing-related operations of the terminal device in the above method embodiment.

[0411] In one possible implementation, the transceiver module 11 is used to obtain non-coverage duration information, which is used to indicate the duration of time the reference point is under satellite non-coverage; the processing module 12 is used to determine the duration of a first timer based on the non-coverage duration information, and the first timer is used by the terminal device to send a message to the core network device via the satellite.

[0412] When the device 10 is used to execute the method in FIG5 , the transceiver module 11 may be used to execute the steps of sending and receiving information in the method, such as steps S510 and S530 , and the processing module 12 may be used to execute the processing steps in the method, such as step S520 .

[0413] When the device 10 is used to execute the method in FIG6 , the transceiver module 11 may be used to execute the steps of sending and receiving information in the method, such as step S620 , and the processing module 12 may be used to execute the processing steps in the method.

[0414] When the device 10 is used to execute the method in Figure 7, the transceiver module 11 can be used to execute the steps of sending and receiving information in the method, such as step S720, and the processing module 12 can be used to execute the processing steps in the method, such as steps S730 and S740.

[0415] When the device 10 is used to execute the method in Figure 8, the transceiver module 11 can be used to execute the steps of sending and receiving information in the method, such as step S820, and the processing module 12 can be used to execute the processing steps in the method, such as steps S830 and S840.

[0416] When the device 10 is used to execute the method in FIG. 9 , the transceiver module 11 may be used to execute the steps of sending and receiving information in the method, and the processing module 12 may be used to execute the processing steps in the method, such as steps S910 and S920 .

[0417] It should be understood that the specific process of each unit executing the above corresponding steps has been described in detail in the above method embodiment, and for the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated here.

[0418] In another possible design, the apparatus 10 may correspond to the access network device in the above method embodiment, or a component (such as a chip) of the access network device.

[0419] Accordingly, the apparatus 10 may implement the steps or processes executed by the access network device in the above method embodiment.

[0420] In one possible implementation, the processing module 12 is used to determine the non-coverage duration information based on the ephemeris information, and the non-coverage duration information is used to indicate the duration of time the reference point is under satellite non-coverage; the transceiver module 11 is used to send the non-coverage duration information to the terminal device.

[0421] When the device 10 is used to execute the method in FIG6 , the transceiver module 11 may be used to execute the steps of sending and receiving information in the method, such as step S620 , and the processing module 12 may be used to execute the processing steps in the method, such as step S610 .

[0422] When the device 10 is used to execute the method in FIG. 7 , the transceiver module 11 may be used to execute the steps of sending and receiving information in the method, such as step S720 , and the processing module 12 may be used to execute the processing steps in the method, such as step S710 .

[0423] When the device 10 is used to execute the method in FIG8 , the transceiver module 11 may be used to execute the steps of sending and receiving information in the method, such as step S820 , and the processing module 12 may be used to execute the processing steps in the method, such as step S810 .

[0424] It should be understood that the specific process of each unit executing the above corresponding steps has been described in detail in the above method embodiment, and for the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated here.

[0425] In another possible design, the apparatus 10 may correspond to the core network device in the above method embodiment, or a component (such as a chip) of the core network device.

[0426] Accordingly, the device 10 can implement the steps or processes executed by the core network device in the above method embodiment.

[0427] In one possible implementation, the transceiver module 11 is used to obtain non-coverage duration information, which is used to indicate the duration of time the reference point is under satellite non-coverage; the processing module 12 is used to determine the duration of the second timer based on the non-coverage duration information, and the second timer is used by the core network device to send a message to the terminal device via the satellite.

[0428] When the device 10 is used to execute the method in Figure 10, the transceiver module 11 can be used to execute the steps of sending and receiving information in the method, such as step S1030; the processing module 12 can be used to execute the processing steps in the method, such as steps S1010 and S1020.

[0429] It should be understood that the specific process of each unit executing the above corresponding steps has been described in detail in the above method embodiment, and for the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated here.

[0430] It should also be understood that the device 10 here is embodied in the form of a functional module. The term "module" here may refer to an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (such as a shared processor, a dedicated processor or a group processor, etc.) and memory for executing one or more software or firmware programs, a merged logic circuit and / or other suitable components that support the described functions. In an optional example, those skilled in the art will understand that the device 10 may be specifically a core network device in the above-mentioned embodiment, and may be used to execute the various processes and / or steps corresponding to the core network device in the above-mentioned method embodiments; or, the device 10 may be specifically a terminal device in the above-mentioned embodiment, and may be used to execute the various processes and / or steps corresponding to the terminal device in the above-mentioned method embodiments. To avoid repetition, it will not be described here.

[0431] The apparatus 10 of each of the above-described solutions has the function of implementing the corresponding steps performed by the device in the above-described method. This function can be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software implementation. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above-described functions; for example, the transceiver module can be replaced by a transceiver (for example, the transmitting unit in the transceiver module can be replaced by a transmitter, and the receiving unit in the transceiver module can be replaced by a receiver), and other units, such as the processing module, can be replaced by a processor to respectively perform the transceiver operations and related processing operations in each method embodiment.

[0432] In addition, the transceiver module 11 may also be a transceiver circuit (for example, may include a receiving circuit and a sending circuit), and the processing module may be a processing circuit.

[0433] FIG12 is a schematic diagram of another communication device 20 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The device 20 includes a processor 21, which is configured to execute computer programs or instructions stored in a memory 22, or read data / signaling stored in the memory 22, to perform the methods performed by the terminal device, access network device, or core network device in the above method embodiments.

[0434] The processor 21 may be one or more processors.

[0435] As shown in FIG12 , the device 20 may further include a memory 22 for storing computer programs or instructions and / or data. The memory 22 may be integrated with the processor 21 or may be separately provided. The memory 22 may be one or more memories.

[0436] As shown in Figure 12, the device 20 may further include a transceiver 23, which is used to receive and / or send signals. For example, the processor 21 is used to control the transceiver 23 to receive and / or send signals.

[0437] The processor may be a central processing unit (CPU), other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc.

[0438] The memory may be a volatile memory and / or a non-volatile memory. The non-volatile memory may 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 may be a random access memory (RAM). For example, RAM may be used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, RAM includes the following forms: static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM).

[0439] It should be noted that when the processor is a general-purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, discrete hardware component, the memory (storage module) can be integrated into the processor.

[0440] 13 shows a schematic diagram of a chip system 30 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The chip system 30 (or also referred to as a processing system) includes a logic circuit 31 and an input / output interface 32.

[0441] The logic circuit 31 may be a processing circuit in the chip system 30. The logic circuit 31 may be coupled to a storage unit and call instructions in the storage unit so that the chip system 30 can implement the methods and functions of the various embodiments of the present application. The input / output interface 32 may be an input / output circuit in the chip system 30, outputting information processed by the chip system 30 or inputting data or signaling information to be processed into the chip system 30 for processing.

[0442] As a solution, the chip system 30 is used to implement the operations performed by the terminal device, access network device or core network device in the above various method embodiments.

[0443] For example, the logic circuit 31 is used to implement the processing-related operations performed by the terminal device, access network device and core network device in the above method embodiment; the input / output interface 32 is used to implement the sending and / or receiving-related operations performed by the terminal device, access network device and core network device in the above method embodiment.

[0444] The present application also provides a communication device, including a processor, which is coupled to a memory, the memory being used to store computer programs or instructions and / or data, and the processor being used to execute the computer programs or instructions stored in the memory, or to read the data stored in the memory, so as to execute the methods executed by the terminal device, access network device or core network device in the above method embodiments.

[0445] Optionally, there are one or more processors and one or more memories.

[0446] Optionally, the communication device includes a memory. Optionally, the memory is integrated with the processor or separately provided.

[0447] The present application provides a computer-readable storage medium having computer instructions stored thereon. When the computer instructions are executed, the methods performed by the terminal device, access network device or core network device in the above-mentioned method embodiments are implemented.

[0448] The present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed by a computer, implement the methods performed by a terminal device, an access network device, or a core network device in the above-mentioned method embodiments.

[0449] The present application provides a communication system, which includes the terminal device and access network device in the above embodiments.

[0450] The present application also provides a communication system, which includes at least one of the terminal device, access network device and core network device in the above embodiments.

[0451] The explanation of the relevant contents and beneficial effects of any of the above-mentioned devices can be referred to the corresponding method embodiments provided above, which will not be repeated here.

[0452] It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), or may be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0453] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by hardware or by a processor executing software instructions. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, which can be stored in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, registers, a hard disk, a removable hard disk, a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium can also be an integral part of the processor. The processor and storage medium can be located in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC can be located in a core network device, an access network device, an access and mobility management function network element, a terminal, a session management function, or a multicast user plane function network element. Of course, the processor and storage medium can also exist as discrete components in a core network device, an access network device, an access and mobility management function network element, a terminal, a session management function, or a multicast user plane function network element.

[0454] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented using software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are performed in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user device, or other programmable device. The computer program or instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer program or instructions may be transferred from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, hard disk, or magnetic tape; an optical medium, such as a digital video disk; or a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state drive.

[0455] In the various embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

[0456] It is understood that the various numbers used in the embodiments of this application are merely for ease of description and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. The order of the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not necessarily imply a specific order of execution; the order of execution of the processes should be determined by their functions and inherent logic.

[0457] Unless otherwise indicated, all technical and scientific terms used in the embodiments of the present application have the same meaning as those generally understood by those skilled in the art of the technical field of the application. The terms used in this application are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the scope of the application. It should be understood that the above are for illustration, and the examples above are only for helping those skilled in the art to understand the embodiments of the present application, rather than limiting the application embodiments to the specific numerical values ​​or specific scenarios illustrated. Those skilled in the art can obviously carry out various equivalent modifications or changes based on the examples given above, and such modifications and changes also fall within the scope of the embodiments of the present application.

[0458] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included in the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.< / n> < / n>

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to a terminal device or a chip in the terminal device, the method comprising: Acquire non-coverage duration information, where the non-coverage duration information is used to indicate the duration of time the reference point is in non-satellite coverage; The duration of a first timer is determined based on the non-coverage duration information, where the first timer is used by the terminal device to send a message to a core network device via a satellite.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The reference points include a first reference point and a second reference point; The non-coverage duration information includes information of a first duration and information of a second duration, wherein the first duration is the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the first reference point, and the second duration is the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection corresponding to the second reference point, or, The non-coverage duration information includes information on the sum of the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the first reference point and the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection corresponding to the second reference point.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The determining, according to the non-coverage duration information, the duration of the first timer includes: The duration of the first timer is determined according to the preset duration of the first timer, the information of the first duration, and the information of the second duration.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The duration of the first timer is greater than or equal to the sum of a preset duration of the first timer, the first duration and the second duration.

5. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that The first reference point and the second reference point are the same, or the first reference point and the second reference point are different.

6. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that The first reference point includes at least one of the following: the location of the terminal device, the location of the first gateway, the area where the first gateway is located, or the area where the terminal device is located; The second reference point includes at least one of the following: The location of the terminal device, the location of the first gateway, the area where the first gateway is located, or the area where the terminal device is located.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The obtaining of non-coverage duration information includes: Receive the non-coverage duration information from the access network device of the terminal device.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The receiving the non-coverage duration information from the access network device of the terminal device includes: receiving a broadcast message from the access network device, wherein the broadcast message includes the non-coverage duration information; or, A radio connection resource RRC reconfiguration message is received from the access network device, wherein the RRC reconfiguration message includes the non-coverage duration information.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The obtaining of non-coverage duration information includes: The non-coverage duration information is determined according to the ephemeris information.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The determining, according to the ephemeris information, the non-coverage duration information includes: Determine, according to the ephemeris information, information of a first duration and information of a second duration, wherein the first duration is a non-coverage duration of an access connection corresponding to a first reference point, and the second duration is a non-coverage duration of a feeder connection corresponding to a second reference point; The non-overlapping duration information includes information about the first duration and information about the second duration.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The obtaining of non-coverage duration information includes: Receiving information about a second duration from an access network device of the terminal device, where the second duration is a non-coverage duration of a feeder connection corresponding to a second reference point; Determine information of a first duration according to the ephemeris information, where the first duration is a non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the first reference point; The non-overlapping duration information includes information about the first duration and information about the second duration.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The obtaining of non-coverage duration information includes: Receiving information about a first duration from an access network device of the terminal device, where the first duration is a non-coverage duration of an access connection corresponding to a first reference point; Determine information of a second duration according to the ephemeris information, where the second duration is a non-coverage duration of the feed connection corresponding to the second reference point; The non-overlapping duration information includes information about the first duration and information about the second duration.

13. The method according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that: The determining of the information of the first duration according to the ephemeris information includes: Determine, according to the ephemeris information, a non-coverage duration of an access connection corresponding to at least one reference point; According to the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the at least one reference point, the information of the first duration is determined to be the information of the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the first reference point, wherein the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the first reference point is the largest of the non-coverage durations of the access connection corresponding to the at least one reference point.

14. The method according to claim 9 or 12, characterized in that: The determining of the information of the second duration according to the ephemeris information includes: Determine, according to the ephemeris information, a non-coverage duration of a feed connection corresponding to at least one reference point; According to the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection corresponding to the at least one reference point, the information of the second duration is determined to be the information of the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection corresponding to the second reference point, wherein the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection corresponding to the second reference point is the largest of the non-coverage durations of the feeder connection corresponding to the at least one reference point.

15. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 14, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receiving the ephemeris information from the access network device of the terminal device; or, Receiving the ephemeris information from a core network device; or, The ephemeris information is obtained through a user plane.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The receiving the ephemeris information from the access network device comprises: receiving a broadcast message from an access network device of the terminal device, wherein the broadcast message includes the ephemeris information; or, A radio connection resource RRC reconfiguration message is received from an access network device of the terminal device, wherein the RRC reconfiguration message includes the ephemeris information.

17. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, characterized in that Before determining the duration of the first timer according to the non-coverage duration information, the method further includes: Receiving first indication information from an access network device of the terminal device; The first indication information is used to instruct the terminal device to determine the duration of the first timer based on the non-coverage duration, or to indicate that the terminal device is in a non-continuous coverage scenario.

18. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 17, characterized in that The method further comprises: When the terminal device sends a first request message to the core network device via the satellite, starting the first timer, the first request message being used to request to establish a connection with the core network device; If a first response message in response to the first request message is received from the core network device before the first timer times out, stopping the first timer; and / or, If a first response message in response to the first request message from the core network device is not received when the first timer times out, establishing a connection with the core network device is terminated.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that The first request message is a registration request message, and the first response message is a registration acceptance message; or, The first request message is a service request message, and the first response message is a service acceptance message.

20. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to an access network device or a chip in the access network device, the method comprising: Determine, according to the ephemeris information, non-coverage duration information, where the non-coverage duration information is used to indicate the duration for which the reference point is not covered by the satellite; The non-coverage duration information is sent to the terminal device.

21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that The reference points include a first reference point and a second reference point; The non-coverage duration information includes information of a first duration and information of a second duration, wherein the first duration is the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the first reference point, and the second duration is the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection corresponding to the second reference point, or, The non-coverage duration information includes information on the sum of the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the first reference point and the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection corresponding to the second reference point.

22. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that The first reference point and the second reference point are the same, or the first reference point and the second reference point are different.

23. The method according to claim 21 or 22, characterized in that The first reference point includes at least one of the following: the location of the terminal device, the location of the first gateway, the area where the first gateway is located, or the area where the terminal device is located; The second reference point includes at least one of the following: The location of the terminal device, the location of the first gateway, the area where the first gateway is located, or the area where the terminal device is located.

24. The method according to any one of claims 20 to 23, characterized in that The sending the non-coverage duration information to the terminal device includes: Sending a broadcast message to the terminal device, wherein the broadcast message includes the non-coverage duration information; or, A wireless connection resource RRC reconfiguration message is sent to the terminal device, wherein the RRC reconfiguration message includes the non-coverage duration information.

25. The method according to any one of claims 20 to 24, characterized in that The determining of the non-coverage duration information according to the ephemeris information includes: According to the ephemeris information, information of a first duration is determined, where the first duration is a non-coverage duration of an access connection corresponding to a first reference point.

26. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that The determining, according to the ephemeris information, information of the first duration includes: Determine, according to the ephemeris information, a non-coverage duration of an access connection corresponding to at least one reference point; According to the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the at least one reference point, the information of the first duration is determined to be the information of the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the first reference point, wherein the non-coverage duration of the access connection corresponding to the first reference point is the largest among the non-coverage durations of the access connections corresponding to the at least one reference point.

27. The method according to any one of claims 20 to 26, characterized in that The determining of the non-coverage duration information according to the ephemeris information includes: According to the ephemeris information, information of a second duration is determined, where the second duration is a non-coverage duration of the feeding connection corresponding to the second reference point.

28. The method according to claim 27, characterized in that The determining, according to the ephemeris information, information of the second duration includes: Determine, according to the ephemeris information, a non-coverage duration of a feed connection corresponding to at least one reference point; According to the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection corresponding to the at least one reference point, the information of the second duration is determined to be the information of the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection corresponding to the second reference point, wherein the non-coverage duration of the feeder connection corresponding to the second reference point is the largest of the non-coverage durations of the feeder connection corresponding to the at least one reference point.

29. The method according to any one of claims 20 to 27, characterized in that The method further comprises: Sending first indication information to the terminal device; The first indication information is used to instruct the terminal device to determine the duration of the first timer based on the non-coverage duration, or to indicate that the terminal device is in a non-continuous coverage scenario.

30. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A processor, configured to execute a computer program stored in the memory, so that the apparatus performs the method according to any one of claims 1 to 29.

31. The device according to claim 30, characterized in that The apparatus also includes the memory.

32. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, and when the computer program is executed on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 29.

33. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises instructions for performing the method of any one of claims 1 to 29.

34. A communication system, characterized in that: include: Terminal equipment access network equipment; The terminal device is used to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 19; The access network device is used to execute the method as described in any one of claims 20 to 29.

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