Method for non-terrestrial network (NTN) communication, and apparatus

Abstract

Provided in the present application are a method applicable to NTN communication, and a communication apparatus. The method comprises: a network device determining a paging threshold of a UE, wherein the paging threshold may comprise a numerical threshold for the number of paging failures or a length threshold for the paging duration; and the network device determining, on the basis of the paging threshold of the UE, whether it is required to send a paging notification signal to the UE before paging the UE. The method and the apparatus that are provided in the embodiments of the present application effectively improve the reliability of paging, and also avoid unnecessary resource waste.

Description

A method and device for non-terrestrial network (NTN) communication

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on November 25, 2023, with application number 202311591231.X, and priority to the Chinese patent application entitled “A method and apparatus for non-terrestrial network NTN communication”, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of wireless communications, and in particular to a communication method and a communication device for a non-terrestrial network (NTN). Background Art

[0003] Satellite communications offer inherent advantages over terrestrial communications, including wide coverage and greater susceptibility to natural disasters. However, these advantages also present challenges. In scenarios where terminals within satellite coverage are directly connected to the satellite, they can experience poor satellite coverage when placed in a bag or placed in an underground garage. For example, when a page is received, these terminals may miss the call or fail to receive it in a timely manner due to the poor signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the paging signal.

[0004] Traditional technologies use coverage enhancement techniques to improve the terminal's ability to decode paging information, such as repeated transmission and improved coverage. These techniques can lower the decoding threshold of the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) to a certain extent, thereby increasing the decoding probability of the paging PDCCH when the signal-noise ratio (SNR) is poor. However, in scenarios where the terminal is directly connected to a satellite, the effectiveness of these techniques is very limited and they can no longer guarantee the reliability of paging. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The embodiments of the present application provide an indication method and apparatus applicable to NTN communications, so that a terminal device can promptly receive a paging call in a direct satellite connection scenario even when the signal status is poor, thereby increasing the probability of successful paging and reducing unnecessary resource waste.

[0006] In a first aspect, a method for NTN communication is provided, which is applied to a network device. The method includes: determining a paging threshold, where the paging threshold includes a number threshold of paging failures and / or a paging duration threshold; sending a paging notification signal to a UE based on the determined paging threshold, where the paging notification signal is used to notify the UE that paging will be performed on the UE; and initiating paging to the UE.

[0007] A paging notification signal is a notification signal sent to a UE before a paging call is initiated, notifying the user of an impending paging call. Optionally, the user can determine the paging request based on the received notification signal, thereby selecting a more open environment and increasing the probability of a successful paging call. In other implementations, the paging notification signal may also be referred to as a pre-paging signal, an alert signal, or the like. The present embodiment does not impose any specific restrictions on the name of the paging notification signal.

[0008] Based on the above solution, a paging notification signal is sent to the UE before initiating paging to the UE. The required receiving signal-to-noise ratio of the paging notification signal is lower than that of the paging, thereby increasing the probability of successful paging.

[0009] According to the solution proposed in the embodiment of the present application, in the NTN communication scenario, since the terminal device may not be able to receive the paging call normally when it is blocked, a paging notification signal is sent to the UE before paging it, thereby increasing the probability of successful paging; at the same time, the paging notification signal is only sent to the UE that meets the judgment conditions, thereby reducing unnecessary resource waste.

[0010] The paging threshold can be divided into a first paging threshold and a second paging threshold. By setting the first paging threshold and the second paging threshold to grade the paging notification signal, the paging notification signal can be sent more accurately, the reliability of paging can be further improved, and unnecessary resource waste can be reduced.

[0011] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the paging notification signal can be divided into a first type of paging notification signal and a second type of paging notification signal according to a first paging threshold and a second paging threshold, wherein the required received signal-to-noise ratio of the second type of paging notification signal is lower than that of the first type of paging notification signal.

[0012] In a possible implementation, the first paging threshold may be set according to the number of paging failures or the paging duration, that is, set to a first number threshold or a first duration threshold.

[0013] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, a paging notification signal is sent to the UE based on a determined paging threshold, including: when the number of paging failures for the UE is greater than a first number threshold, a first type of paging notification signal is sent to the UE; or when the paging duration for the UE is greater than a first duration threshold, a first type of paging notification signal is sent to the UE.

[0014] In another possible implementation, the second paging threshold may be set according to the number of paging failures or the paging duration, that is, set to a second number threshold or a second duration threshold.

[0015] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, sending a paging notification signal to the UE based on the determined paging threshold also includes: when the number of paging failures for the UE is greater than a second number threshold, sending a second type of paging notification signal to the UE; or, when the paging duration for the UE is greater than the second duration threshold, sending a second type of paging notification signal to the UE.

[0016] Generally, the value of the second number threshold is greater than the value of the first number threshold; the value of the second duration threshold is greater than the value of the first duration threshold.

[0017] Based on the above solution, for UEs that need to receive paging notification signals, UEs that meet different conditions are classified, and different paging notification signals are sent to UEs that meet different conditions, thereby increasing the probability of UEs receiving paging notification signals and avoiding unnecessary resource waste.

[0018] Optionally, the method further includes: receiving capability indication information, where the capability indication information is used to indicate that the UE supports receiving a paging notification signal.

[0019] In one possible implementation, the capability indication information is used to indicate that the UE supports the second type of paging notification signal. At this time, optionally, the sending of the capability indication information can also represent that the UE also supports the first type of paging notification signal, that is, there is no need to explicitly indicate that the UE supports the first type of paging notification signal.

[0020] In another possible implementation, the capability indication information includes two pieces of indication information, respectively indicating that the UE supports a first type of paging notification signal and a second type of paging notification signal.

[0021] Based on the above solution, the technical solution in the embodiment of the present application is aimed at UE that supports the paging notification signal feature, thereby increasing the probability of the UE receiving the paging notification signal.

[0022] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: after receiving paging information initiated for the UE, instructing the base station to initiate at least one paging to the UE. If the paging is successful, there is no need to send a paging notification signal, thereby reducing unnecessary resource waste.

[0023] Optionally, the method further includes receiving priority indication information, where the priority indication information is used to indicate the paging priority of the UE.

[0024] Based on the above scheme, in the case where the number of UEs is too large and paging notification signals cannot be sent to all of them at the same time, paging notification signals can be sent to UEs that meet the conditions according to the UE's paging priority. By indicating the UE's paging priority, UEs with higher priorities can obtain paging notification signals in a timely manner, thereby improving the reliability of paging.

[0025] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the method includes: the network device is an access and mobility management function (AMF), and the AMF instructs the access network device to send the paging notification signal to the UE based on the set paging threshold.

[0026] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: the network device is an AMF, and the AMF sets the paging threshold by itself.

[0027] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the method includes: the network device is an access network device, and the access network device receives a paging threshold; or, the access network device sets the paging threshold by itself.

[0028] Optionally, the paging threshold may be predefined by a protocol.

[0029] In a second aspect, a method for NTN communication is provided, which is applied to a terminal device, and the method includes: receiving at least one first type of paging notification signal and / or a second type of paging notification signal; wherein the required reception signal-to-noise ratio of the second type of paging notification signal is lower than that of the first type of paging notification signal.

[0030] Based on the above solution, in NTN communication scenarios, since terminal devices may not be able to properly receive paging calls due to conditions such as obstruction, the UE can choose to receive paging notification signals in such situations, thereby increasing the probability of successful paging. In particular, by further classifying paging notification signals into a first type of paging notification signal and a second type of paging notification signal, the probability of UE receiving paging notification signals is increased while also reducing unnecessary resource waste.

[0031] Optionally, the method further includes: sending capability indication information, where the capability indication information is used to indicate that the UE supports receiving the first type of paging notification signal and / or the second type of paging notification signal.

[0032] In a possible implementation, the capability indication information is used to indicate that the UE supports the second type of paging notification signal, and supports the first type of paging notification signal by default.

[0033] In another possible implementation, the capability indication information includes two pieces of indication information, respectively indicating that the UE supports a first type of paging notification signal and a second type of paging notification signal.

[0034] Based on the above solution, the technical solution in the embodiment of the present application is aimed at UE that supports the paging notification signal feature, thereby increasing the probability of the UE receiving the paging notification signal.

[0035] Optionally, the method further includes sending priority indication information, where the priority indication information is used to indicate the paging priority of the UE.

[0036] Based on the above solution, when there are too many UEs and paging notification signals cannot be sent to all of them at the same time, the UE reports its own paging priority, so that UEs with higher priorities can obtain paging notification signals in time, thereby improving the reliability of paging.

[0037] Optionally, the method further includes sending indication information indicating that paging has been successful, to indicate that the UE has successfully received the paging based on the paging notification signal.

[0038] Optionally, the UE receives the first type of paging notification signal and the second type of paging notification signal in at least one of the following ways:

[0039] (1) receiving both the first type of paging notification signal and the second type of paging notification signal;

[0040] (2) Selecting to receive only the first type of paging notification signal by judging its own signal quality;

[0041] (3) Select to receive only the second type of paging notification signal by judging its own signal quality.

[0042] In one possible implementation, the UE determines its own signal quality based on the size of the reference signal receiving power (RSRP) and sets the first threshold and the second threshold. The first threshold and the second threshold may also be predefined through a protocol, and the specific setting method of the first threshold and the second threshold is not limited.

[0043] The UE determines its own signal quality based on the RSRP size. If the signal quality is lower than the second threshold, it only receives the second type of paging notification signal. If the signal quality is lower than the first threshold but higher than the second threshold, it only receives the first type of paging notification signal. The value of the second threshold is less than the first threshold, indicating that the signal quality has further deteriorated.

[0044] Based on the above scheme, the way in which the UE receives the first type of paging notification signal and the second type of paging notification signal is more flexible, and the way in which the UE receives the paging notification signal according to its own signal quality is more accurate, which can improve the reliability of paging and reduce unnecessary signaling overhead.

[0045] In a third aspect, an NTN communication device is provided, comprising: a processor, a memory, and a transceiver, wherein the memory is used to store a computer program; and at least one processor is used to execute the computer program or instructions stored in the memory and control the transceiver to transmit and receive signals, so that the communication device can perform the method provided by any implementation of the first aspect above during operation.

[0046] In one possible implementation, the structure of the NTN communication device may include a processing unit and a transceiver unit. The processing unit is configured to support the communication device in executing the corresponding functions of the above-mentioned method. The transceiver unit is configured to support communication between the communication device and other communication devices, so that the NTN communication device can execute the method provided by any implementation of the above-mentioned first aspect during operation. The NTN communication device may also include a storage unit, which is coupled to the processing unit and the transceiver unit and stores the necessary program instructions and data for the communication device, so that the NTN communication device can execute the method provided by any implementation of the above-mentioned first aspect during operation.

[0047] In another possible implementation, the NTN communication device is a chip or a chip system. The processing unit may also be embodied as a processing circuit or a logic circuit; and the transceiver unit may be an input / output interface, interface circuit, output circuit, input circuit, pin, or related circuit on the chip or chip system, so that the NTN communication device can execute the method provided in any implementation of the first aspect above during operation.

[0048] In a fourth aspect, an NTN communication device is provided, comprising: a processor, a memory, and a transceiver, wherein the memory is used to store a computer program; and at least one processor is used to execute the computer program or instructions stored in the memory and control the transceiver to transmit and receive signals, so that the communication device can perform the method provided in any implementation of the second aspect above during operation.

[0049] In one possible implementation, the structure of the NTN communication device may include a processing unit and a transceiver unit. The processing unit is configured to support the communication device in executing the corresponding functions of the above-mentioned method. The transceiver unit is configured to support communication between the communication device and other communication devices, enabling the NTN communication device to execute the method provided in any of the implementations of the second aspect during operation. The NTN communication device may also include a storage unit, coupled to the processing unit and the transceiver unit, to store the necessary program instructions and data for the communication device, enabling the NTN communication device to execute the method provided in any of the implementations of the second aspect during operation.

[0050] In another possible implementation, the NTN communication device is a chip or a chip system. The processing unit may also be embodied as a processing circuit or a logic circuit; and the transceiver unit may be an input / output interface, interface circuit, output circuit, input circuit, pin, or related circuit on the chip or chip system, so that the NTN communication device can execute the method provided in any implementation of the second aspect above during operation.

[0051] In a fifth aspect, a processor is provided, comprising a processor configured to read and execute a computer program stored in a memory to perform the method in the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0052] For example, the communication device may be a chip or a chip system.

[0053] Optionally, the chip further comprises a memory, and the memory is connected to the processor via a circuit or wire. The memory may store computer programs or instructions necessary for implementing the method described in the first aspect.

[0054] Further optionally, the chip also includes a communication interface.

[0055] For the operations such as transmission, sending and receiving involved in the processor, unless otherwise specified, or unless they conflict with their actual functions or internal logic in the relevant descriptions, they can be more generally understood as processor output, reception, input and other operations, rather than the transmission, sending and receiving operations directly performed by the RF circuit and antenna.

[0056] In a sixth aspect, an NTN communication system is provided, which includes the NTN communication device according to the third aspect and / or the NTN communication device according to the fourth aspect.

[0057] In a seventh aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores a program code for execution by a device, wherein the program code includes a method for executing any one of the implementations of the first to second aspects above.

[0058] In an eighth aspect, a chip system is provided, which includes a processor and an interface, wherein the interface is used to obtain a program or instruction, and the processor is used to call the program or instruction to implement or support the method provided in any one of the implementation methods of the first to second aspects above.

[0059] In a possible design, the chip system further includes a memory, which is used to store program instructions and data necessary for the terminal. The chip system can be composed of a chip or include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0060] In a ninth aspect, a computer program product is provided, comprising: a computer program code, which, when running on the computer, executes the method in any possible implementation of the first to second aspects above. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0061] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system architecture 100 applicable to an embodiment of the present application;

[0062] FIG2 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method 200 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0063] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a paging indication method 300 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0064] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a paging indication method 400 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0065] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a paging indication method 500 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0066] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of a paging indication method 600 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0067] FIG7 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 700 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0068] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of a communication architecture 800 provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0069] The technical solution in this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0070] Among them, as used in the specification of this application and the appended claims, the singular expressions "a", "an", "said", "above", "the" and "this" are intended to also include expressions such as "one or more", unless there is a clear contrary indication in the context. It should also be understood that in the following embodiments of this application, "at least one", "one or more" refer to one, two or more. The term "and / or" is used to describe the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist; for example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the previous and subsequent associated objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0071] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of this application to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application. Obviously, the embodiments described are part of the embodiments of this application, not all of them. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative efforts are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0072] The following takes the NTN satellite communication scenario applicable to the embodiments of the present application as an example to introduce the technical solution of the present application in detail as follows.

[0073] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system architecture 100 applicable to an embodiment of the present application.

[0074] Satellite communication is communication between radio communication stations on Earth (including the ground and the lower atmosphere) using satellites as relays. As shown in Figure 1, terminal 101 connects to base station 103 via air interface 102. Base station 103 is deployed on a satellite and connected to the core network via a wireless link, ultimately accessing data network 110. Wireless links also exist between satellites, enabling signaling and data transmission between base stations. The various network elements and their interfaces are described below:

[0075] Terminal: This includes mobile devices that support the new air interface, typically handheld devices, in-vehicle devices, wearable devices, smart phones, SIP phones, wireless data cards, personal digital assistants (PDAs), computers, tablets, laptops, wireless modems, handheld devices (handsets), laptop computers, computers with wireless transceiver capabilities, smart books, vehicles, and other mobile devices, or devices built into these devices (e.g., communication modules, modems, or chips in these devices), or other processing devices connected to wireless modems. These devices can access the satellite network through the air interface and initiate calls, access the Internet, and perform other services. For ease of description, the following description uses the terminal or UE as an example.

[0076] Base station 103: As shown in FIG1 , base station 103 is deployed on a satellite and mainly provides wireless access services, dispatches wireless resources to access terminals, and provides reliable wireless transmission protocols and data encryption protocols.

[0077] Core Network: Its primary functions are to provide user connectivity, user management, and service bearer. As a bearer network, it provides an interface to external networks. Services include user access control, mobility management, session management, user security authentication, and billing. The core network consists of multiple functional units, which can be divided into control plane and data plane functional entities. Key functional units include the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 108, the Session Management Function (SMF) 109, and the User Plane Function (UPF) 107, each with distinct responsibilities. For example, the AMF is primarily responsible for user access management, security authentication, and mobility management, specifically by facilitating the transmission of SM messages between the UE and the SMF and providing UE mobility event notifications. The SMF is primarily responsible for interacting with the separate data plane, including creating, updating, and deleting PDU sessions and managing the session environment with the UPF. The UPF is primarily responsible for managing user plane data transmission, traffic statistics, and secure eavesdropping.

[0078] Ground station 106: generally refers to ground equipment installed on the surface of the earth (including those installed on ships and aircraft) for satellite communications, mainly responsible for forwarding signaling and business data between satellite base stations and the core network.

[0079] Air interface 102: The wireless link between the base station and the terminal, which defines the frequency, bandwidth, access timing, coding method, and handover of each wireless channel.

[0080] Xn interface 105: an interface between base stations, mainly used for signaling interaction such as handover.

[0081] NG interface 104: The interface between the base station and the core network, mainly used to exchange NAS and other signaling of the core network, as well as user service data.

[0082] It should be noted that the communication architecture given above is only an example. The technical solution in the embodiment of the present application may also be used in other NTN architectures, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited to this.

[0083] FIG2 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method 200 provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0084] In scenarios where terminals are directly connected to satellites, they may experience very poor satellite coverage if they are placed in a bag or placed in an underground garage. For example, when paging calls arrive, these terminals may miss the call or fail to receive the paging message in time due to the poor signal-to-noise ratio of the paging signal.

[0085] In this case, the option of sending a paging notification signal to the UE, also known as pre-paging, refers to sending a notification signal to the UE before initiating paging, notifying the user of an impending paging call. Optionally, the user can determine the paging requirement based on the received paging notification signal, thereby changing to a more open environment and increasing the probability of successful paging. In one possible implementation, the paging notification signal may also be referred to as a pre-paging signal, an alarm signal, etc., and the embodiments of the present application do not impose any specific restrictions on the name of the paging notification signal.

[0086] Before initiating paging to the UE, a paging notification signal is sent to the UE. The required receiving signal-to-noise ratio of the paging notification signal is lower than that of the paging, thereby increasing the probability of successful paging.

[0087] In particular, paging notification signals include a first type of paging notification signal and a second type of paging notification signal. The first type of paging notification signal may also be referred to as a general paging notification signal, a general alarm signal, etc., and the present embodiment does not impose any specific restrictions on the name of the first type of paging notification signal. The second type of paging notification signal may also be referred to as an enhanced paging notification signal, an enhanced alarm signal, etc., and the present embodiment does not impose any specific restrictions on the name of the second type of paging notification signal. For ease of description, the following embodiments use the first type of paging notification signal and the second type of paging notification signal as examples.

[0088] The method 200 shown in FIG. 2 may include the following steps.

[0089] S201: Send capability indication information to indicate that the UE supports receiving paging notification signals.

[0090] Step S201 is optional, and the network device may determine the UE's capabilities in other ways. For example, the network device may assume that all UEs have the capability to receive paging notification signals, or the network device may determine whether the UE has the capability to receive paging notification signals based on the UE model, the version of the operating system on the UE, or other capability information of the UE.

[0091] S202: The network device sets a judgment threshold according to the number of paging failures or paging duration of the UE, and sends a paging notification signal to the UE before paging the UE according to the judgment result.

[0092] The method provided by the embodiment of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiment of the present application proposes multiple solutions in order to improve the problem of the inability to ensure paging reliability due to reasons such as obstruction in NTN communication.

[0093] The embodiments provided in this application can be applied to the communication system shown in FIG1 above without limitation.

[0094] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a paging indication method 300 provided in an embodiment of the present application. For ease of description, the method 300 is exemplarily illustrated by taking the interaction between the UE, the base station, and the AMF as an example.

[0095] It can be understood that the description here is made using a base station as an example, and the execution subject may also be other access network devices without limitation.

[0096] It can be understood that AMF is used as an example for description here, and the execution entity can also be other network elements in the core network without limitation.

[0097] The method 300 shown in FIG. 3 may include the following steps.

[0098] S301, sending capability indication information;

[0099] Optionally, after initially accessing the communication system, the UE sends capability indication information to the AMF, where the sent capability indication information is used to inform the AMF that the UE supports reception of paging notification signals and has the ability to receive paging notification signals before receiving paging;

[0100] Optionally, the capability indication information is used to indicate that the UE supports a first type of paging notification signal;

[0101] Step S301 is an optional step, and the AMF may also determine the UE capabilities in other ways.

[0102] S302: Receive paging information initiated for the UE.

[0103] S303, instructing the base station to initiate at least one paging to the UE;

[0104] Specifically, when the AMF receives the paging information for the UE, it sends the paging information to the base station, instructing the base station to initiate at least one paging to the UE, that is, no paging notification signal is sent; if the paging is successful, the process ends after receiving the paging success indication information sent by the UE; otherwise, continue to execute the measures in S304.

[0105] S304, determining whether the paging initiated to the UE meets a first paging threshold;

[0106] Optionally, determining whether the paging initiated to the UE meets a first paging threshold based on the capability indication information sent by the UE;

[0107] Optionally, setting the first paging threshold may include setting a first number threshold or a first duration threshold, as follows:

[0108] Method 1

[0109] A UE-specific counter is set at the AMF. The first count threshold is set to X1, where X1 is an integer greater than or equal to zero. If there are still pages to the UE after X1 paging attempts, the first count threshold is met. The value of X1 can be determined by the AMF based on the average number of paging attempts in the current tracking area, or can be predefined by the protocol.

[0110] Optionally, the probability of the UE receiving the first type of paging notification signal may be increased in combination with expanding the paging range;

[0111] Exemplarily, the AMF paging setting for the UE that meets the first paging threshold is as follows: before reaching the set first number threshold, a paging is sent to the base station that the UE has most recently visited; after reaching the set first number threshold, when the paging is initiated again, it is expanded to the secondary paging range, at this time, the paging is sent to the adjacent base station, and the first type of paging notification signal is sent before the paging of the cell within the first level paging range; on the basis of meeting the set first number threshold, if the paging is still not successful, it is expanded to the third level paging range, and the first type of paging notification signal is sent within the previous second level paging range.

[0112] Method 2

[0113] A UE-specific timer is set at the AMF with a first duration threshold of X2, where X2 is greater than or equal to zero. The timer starts when paging of the UE begins. If the AMF does not receive a paging success indication message from the UE within X2, the first duration threshold is met. The value of X2 can be determined based on the average time from the AMF initiating paging to receiving a paging success indication message from the UE, or can be predefined by the protocol.

[0114] S305, sending instruction information;

[0115] Optionally, the indication information includes paging information; and the paging information includes an information element message #1, where the information element message #1 is used to indicate that the base station needs to send a first type of paging notification signal to the UE before initiating paging to the UE;

[0116] Optionally, the indication information includes paging information and cell message #1, that is, the cell message #1 can be directly inserted into the indication information for transmission;

[0117] Exemplarily, a piece of paging notification information (PNI) assistance information is added to the paging message, and the assistance information includes an information element (IE): a notify before paging signal;

[0118] Optionally, in the case where there are too many UEs meeting the first paging threshold and paging notification signals cannot be sent to all of them at the same time, the paging information further includes another information element message #2, where the information element message #2 is used to indicate the priority of sending the first type of paging notification signal to the UEs meeting the first paging threshold;

[0119] Optionally, the cell message #2 may be directly inserted into the indication information and sent;

[0120] Optionally, the base station may calculate the priority of the UE when sending the first type of paging notification signal according to at least one of the following:

[0121] (1) UE paging priority indicated by cell information #2;

[0122] (2) Time of initiating paging: the earlier the paging is initiated, the higher the priority;

[0123] (3) Time since paging failure: The longer the time, the higher the priority.

[0124] S306, receiving instruction information.

[0125] S307: Before paging the UE, a first type of paging notification signal needs to be sent to the UE.

[0126] S308, before paging the UE, first send at least one first type of paging notification signal to the UE, and then initiate paging;

[0127] Optionally, before paging the UE, multiple paging notification signals of the first type may be sent to the UE, and then the paging may be initiated, thereby increasing the probability of the UE receiving the paging;

[0128] Optionally, the paging notification signal may be a sequence or DCI information carried by a PDCCH. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific form of the paging notification signal.

[0129] In one possible implementation, when the UE to be paged enters an inactive state or an idle state, it starts measuring the surrounding environment, that is, starts detecting signal quality. When the UE detects that the current signal quality is lower than a first threshold, it starts detecting and receiving a first type of paging notification signal.

[0130] The signal quality can be described using parameters such as RSRP, reference signal receiving quality (RSRQ), etc., which are used to represent radio resource management (RRM) measurement results. Other parameters indicating signal quality can also be used to describe the signal quality, which is not limited in the present embodiment.

[0131] Exemplarily, the UE determines its own signal quality according to the size of RSRP and sets the first threshold. The first threshold may also be predefined through a protocol. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific setting method of the first threshold.

[0132] S309, receiving a first type of paging notification signal to notify the user of an incoming paging call;

[0133] Optionally, when the UE detects that the current signal quality is poor, that is, lower than a first threshold, it starts to detect and receive a first type of paging notification signal sent from the base station. When the UE receives at least one first type of paging notification signal, it can adjust the signal quality to improve the reliability of the paging.

[0134] Exemplarily, the UE is a mobile phone, which receives a first type of paging notification signal in an obstructed environment. At this time, the paging requirement can be determined through the paging notification signal. For example, the mobile phone can be moved out of the obstructed environment so that the satellite paging message can be received, thereby improving the reliability of the paging.

[0135] When the UE paging is successful, the measures in S310 are continued to be executed.

[0136] S310, after receiving the paging and the paging is successful, the UE sends a paging success indication message;

[0137] Optionally, the UE sends a service request message to the AMF, indicating that the paging was successful.

[0138] If the AMF does not receive the paging success indication information, it re-executes S308 until it receives the paging success indication information.

[0139] In the embodiment of the present application, #1 and #2 involved in the above steps only serve as identifiers to distinguish different cell messages and should not be understood as limiting the embodiment of the present application.

[0140] In the embodiment of the present application, the first paging threshold and the second paging threshold involved in the above steps only serve as identifiers to distinguish different paging thresholds and should not be understood as limiting the embodiment of the present application.

[0141] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a paging indication method 400 provided in an embodiment of the present application. For ease of description, the method 400 is exemplarily illustrated by taking the interaction between the execution subject UE, base station and AMF as an example.

[0142] It can be understood that the description here is made using a base station as an example, and the execution subject may also be other access network devices without limitation.

[0143] It is understood that the description here takes AMF as an example, and the execution subject may also be other network elements in the core network without limitation. The method 400 shown in Figure 4 may include the following steps.

[0144] The specific measures in S401-S402 can refer to the contents of S301-S302 mentioned above and will not be repeated here.

[0145] S403, sending instruction information;

[0146] Optionally, the indication information includes paging information, and the paging information includes an information element message #1, where the information element message #1 is used to indicate to the base station that the UE supports sending of a paging notification signal; the paging information may further include an information element message #2, where the information element message #2 is used to indicate a first paging threshold, where the first paging threshold is used to determine whether it is necessary to send a paging notification signal to the UE before paging the UE;

[0147] Optionally, the cell message #1 and the cell message #2 may be directly inserted into the indication information and sent;

[0148] Optionally, setting the first paging threshold may include setting a first number threshold or a first duration threshold, as follows:

[0149] Method 1

[0150] A UE-specific counter is set at the base station, and a first count threshold is set to X3, where X3 is an integer greater than or equal to zero. If no paging success indication information is received from the UE after X3 paging attempts, the first count threshold is met. The value of X3 here can be determined by the base station based on the average number of paging attempts in the current cell, or sent to the base station in an indication information from the AMF, or agreed upon by the protocol, and is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0151] Method 2

[0152] A UE-specific timer is set at the base station, and a first duration threshold is set to X4, where X4 is greater than or equal to zero. The timer is started when the base station receives a paging message for the UE. If the base station still does not receive a paging success indication message sent by the UE within X4, the first duration threshold is met. The value of X4 here can be determined based on the average time from the base station initiating paging to the receipt of the paging success indication message, or can be sent to the base station in an indication message from the AMF, or can be agreed upon by a protocol, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0153] Optionally, in the case where there are too many UEs meeting the first paging threshold and paging notification signals cannot be sent to all of them at the same time, the paging information further includes an information element message #3, where the information element message #3 is used to indicate the priority when sending the paging notification signal to the UEs meeting the first paging threshold;

[0154] Optionally, the cell message #3 may be directly inserted into the indication information and sent.

[0155] S404, sending at least one paging message to the UE;

[0156] Specifically, when the base station receives the indication information sent by the AMF, it first initiates at least one paging to the UE, that is, it does not send a paging notification signal. If the paging is successful, the process ends after receiving the paging success indication information sent by the UE; otherwise, continue to execute the measures in S406.

[0157] S405, determining whether the paging initiated to the UE meets a first paging threshold;

[0158] Optionally, whether the UE meets the first paging threshold is determined based on capability indication information sent by the UE.

[0159] S406, sending a first type of paging notification signal to the UE before paging the UE according to the determination result;

[0160] When the first paging threshold is met, the measures in S407 are continued to be executed.

[0161] The specific measures in S407-S408 can refer to the contents of the aforementioned S308-S309 and will not be repeated here.

[0162] When the UE paging is successful, the measures in S409 are continued to be executed.

[0163] S409, after receiving the paging and the paging is successful, the UE sends a paging success indication message;

[0164] Optionally, the UE sends an RRC connection establishment request to the base station, indicating that the UE establishes a connection through the RA process and enters a connected state, and the paging has been successful.

[0165] If the base station does not receive the paging success indication information, S407 is executed again until the base station receives the paging success indication information.

[0166] In the embodiment of the present application, #1, #2 and #3 involved in the above steps only serve as identifiers to distinguish different cell messages and should not be understood as limiting the embodiment of the present application.

[0167] In the embodiment of the present application, the first paging threshold involved in the above steps only serves as an identifier to distinguish different paging thresholds and should not be understood as limiting the embodiment of the present application.

[0168] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a paging indication method 500 provided in an embodiment of the present application. For ease of description, the method 500 is exemplarily illustrated by taking the interaction between the execution subject UE, base station and AMF as an example.

[0169] It can be understood that the description here is made using a base station as an example, and the execution subject may also be other access network devices without limitation.

[0170] It is understood that the description here is based on the example of AMF, and the execution subject may also be other network elements in the core network without limitation. The method 500 shown in FIG5 may include the following steps.

[0171] S501, sending capability indication information;

[0172] Optionally, the capability indication information sent is used to inform the AMF that the UE supports receiving paging notification signals and has the ability to receive paging notification signals before receiving paging;

[0173] Optionally, the capability indication information is used to indicate that the UE supports the second type of paging notification signal. In this case, the sending of the capability indication information may also indicate that the UE also supports the first type of paging notification signal, i.e., there is no need to explicitly indicate that the UE supports the first type of paging notification signal.

[0174] Optionally, the capability indication information includes two pieces of indication information, respectively indicating that the UE supports a first type of paging notification signal and a second type of paging notification signal;

[0175] Step S501 is an optional step, and the AMF may also determine the capabilities of the UE in other ways.

[0176] The specific measures in S502-S504 can refer to the contents of the aforementioned S302-S304 and will not be repeated here.

[0177] If the UE meets the first paging threshold, the measures in S505 are continued to be executed.

[0178] S505-S507, optionally, the AMF instructs the base station to send at least one first type of paging notification signal before initiating paging to the UE, and then initiates paging. If the paging is successful, that is, the process ends after receiving the paging success indication information sent by the UE, otherwise continue to execute the measures in S508.

[0179] Steps S505-S507 are optional steps. After receiving the indication information sent by the AMF, the base station may choose not to send the first type of paging notification signal and directly execute the steps in S508.

[0180] S508, determining whether the paging initiated to the UE meets a second paging threshold;

[0181] Optionally, determining whether the UE meets a second paging threshold based on the capability indication information sent by the UE;

[0182] Optionally, setting the second paging threshold may include setting a second number threshold or a second duration threshold, as follows:

[0183] Method 1

[0184] A UE-specific counter is set at the AMF. The second count threshold is set to X5, where X5 is a positive integer and the set value of X5 is greater than X1. If there is still paging for the UE after X5 paging times, the UE meets the second count threshold.

[0185] It should be understood that the second count threshold and the first count threshold in S504 have the same starting point for judgment, that is, a counter is set at the AMF, and the first count threshold is met when the number of paging failures is greater than X1, and the second count threshold is met when the number of paging failures is greater than X5.

[0186] Method 2

[0187] A UE-specific timer is set at the AMF, and the second duration threshold is set to X6, where X6 is greater than or equal to zero and the set value of X6 is greater than X2. It is started when the paging of the UE starts. If the AMF has not received the UE paging success indication information within X6 time, the UE meets the second duration threshold.

[0188] It should be understood that the second duration threshold and the starting point for judging the first duration threshold in S504 are the same, that is, a timer is set at the AMF, and the first duration threshold is met when the paging duration is greater than X2, and the second duration threshold is met when the number of paging failures is greater than X6.

[0189] If the UE meets the second paging threshold, the measures in S509 are continued to be executed.

[0190] S509, sending instruction information;

[0191] Optionally, the indication information includes paging information; and the paging information includes an information element message #1, where the information element message is used to indicate that the base station needs to send a second type of paging notification signal to the UE before initiating paging to the UE;

[0192] Optionally, the cell message #1 may be directly inserted into the indication information and sent;

[0193] Exemplarily, a PNI auxiliary information is added to the paging information, and the PNI auxiliary information includes IE: enhanced notification before paging;

[0194] Optionally, in the case where the number of UEs meeting the second paging threshold is too large and paging notification signals cannot be sent to all of them at the same time, the paging information further includes another information element message #2, where the information element message #2 is used to indicate the priority when sending the paging notification signal to the UEs meeting the second paging threshold;

[0195] Optionally, the cell message #2 may be directly inserted into the indication information and sent.

[0196] S510, receiving instruction information.

[0197] S511: Determine, based on the judgment result, that a second type of paging notification signal needs to be sent to the UE.

[0198] S512, before paging the UE, first send at least one second type of paging notification signal to the UE, and then initiate paging;

[0199] Optionally, before paging the UE, multiple paging notification signals of the second type may be sent to the UE before initiating paging, thereby increasing the probability of the UE receiving the paging;

[0200] Optionally, the second type of paging notification signal may be a sequence or DCI information carried by a PDCCH. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific form of the second type of paging notification signal.

[0201] For example, the second type of paging notification signal can have more repetitions than the first type of paging notification signal, or have a different sequence length, etc., so that the SNR required for the second type of paging notification signal to be correctly received is lower than that of the first type of paging notification signal. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the difference in specific content between the second type of paging notification signal and the first type of paging notification signal.

[0202] In one possible implementation, when the UE to be paged enters an inactive state or an idle state, it starts measuring the surrounding environment, that is, starts detecting signal quality. When the UE detects that the current signal quality is lower than a second threshold, it starts detecting and receiving a second type of paging notification signal.

[0203] Among them, the signal quality can be described by parameters such as RSRP and RSRQ, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0204] Exemplarily, the UE determines its own signal quality according to the size of RSRP and sets the second threshold. The second threshold may also be predefined through a protocol, and the specific setting method of the second threshold is not limited.

[0205] S513: Receive a second type of paging notification signal to notify the user of an incoming paging call.

[0206] Optionally, when the UE detects that the current signal quality is poor, that is, lower than a second threshold, it starts to detect and receive a second type of paging notification signal sent from the base station. When the UE receives at least one second type of paging notification signal, it can adjust the signal quality to improve the reliability of the paging.

[0207] For example, the UE is a mobile phone, which receives a second type of paging notification signal in an obstructed environment. At this time, the paging requirement can be determined by the second type of paging notification signal, and the mobile phone can be moved out of the obstructed environment so that the satellite paging message can be received, thereby improving the reliability of the paging.

[0208] In another possible implementation, the UE may independently select a receiving mode for the first type of paging notification signal and the second type of paging notification signal, including at least one of the following:

[0209] (1) receiving both the first type of paging notification signal and the second type of paging notification signal;

[0210] (2) Selecting to receive only the first type of paging notification signal by judging its own signal quality;

[0211] (3) Select to receive only the second type of paging notification signal by judging its own signal quality.

[0212] Exemplarily, the UE determines its own signal quality based on the RSRP size. If the signal quality is lower than the second threshold, it only receives the second type of paging notification signal. If the signal quality is lower than the first threshold but higher than the second threshold, it only receives the first type of paging notification signal, where the value of the second threshold is less than the value of the first threshold, indicating that the signal quality has further deteriorated.

[0213] When the UE paging is successful, the measures in S514 are continued to be executed.

[0214] S514, after receiving the paging and the paging is successful, the UE sends a paging success indication message;

[0215] Optionally, the UE sends a service request message to the AMF, indicating that the paging was successful.

[0216] If the AMF does not receive the paging success indication information, it re-executes S512 until it receives the paging success indication information.

[0217] In the embodiment of the present application, #1 and #2 involved in the above steps only serve as identifiers to distinguish different cell messages and should not be understood as limiting the embodiment of the present application.

[0218] It should be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the paging threshold can be divided into a first paging threshold and a second paging threshold, wherein the first paging threshold and the second paging threshold only serve as identification to distinguish different paging thresholds and should not be understood as limiting the embodiment of the present application.

[0219] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of a paging indication method 600 provided in an embodiment of the present application. For ease of description, the method 600 is exemplarily illustrated by taking the interaction between the UE, the base station, and the AMF as an example.

[0220] It can be understood that the description here is made using a base station as an example, and the execution subject may also be other access network devices without limitation.

[0221] It is understood that the description here takes AMF as an example, and the execution subject may also be other network elements in the core network without limitation. The method 600 shown in Figure 6 may include the following steps.

[0222] S601, sending capability indication information;

[0223] Optionally, the capability indication information sent is used to inform the AMF that the UE supports receiving paging notification signals, that is, has the ability to receive paging notification signals before receiving paging;

[0224] Optionally, the capability indication information is used to indicate that the UE supports the second type of paging notification signal. In this case, sending the capability indication information may also indicate that the UE also supports the first type of paging notification signal, that is, there is no need to explicitly indicate that the UE supports the first type of paging notification signal.

[0225] Optionally, the capability indication information includes two pieces of indication information, respectively indicating that the UE supports a first type of paging notification signal and a second type of paging notification signal.

[0226] Step S601 is an optional step, and the AMF may also determine the capabilities of the UE in other ways.

[0227] S602: Receive paging information initiated for the UE.

[0228] S603, sending instruction information;

[0229] Optionally, the indication information includes paging information, and the paging information includes an information element message #1, which is used to indicate to the base station that the UE supports receiving the second type of paging notification signal. The paging information may further include an information element message #2, which is used to indicate a first paging threshold, and the first paging threshold is used to determine whether it is necessary to send the first type of paging notification signal to the UE before paging the UE. For details, refer to the content in S403 above, which will not be repeated here. The paging information may further include an information element message #3, which is used to indicate a second paging threshold, and the second paging threshold is used to determine whether it is necessary to send the second type of paging notification signal to the UE before paging the UE.

[0230] Optionally, the cell message #1, cell message #2, and cell message #3 may be directly inserted into the indication information and sent;

[0231] Optionally, setting the second paging threshold may include setting a second number threshold or a second duration threshold, as follows:

[0232] Method 1

[0233] A UE-specific counter is set at the base station, and the second count threshold is set to X7, where X7 is a positive integer and the set value of X7 is greater than X3. If the base station still does not receive a paging success indication message from the UE after X7 pagings, the UE meets the second count threshold.

[0234] Method 2

[0235] A UE-specific timer is set at the base station, and the second duration threshold is set to X8, where X8 is greater than or equal to zero and the set value of X8 is greater than X4. It is started when the base station receives a paging message for the UE. If the base station still does not receive a paging success indication message from the UE within X8 time, the UE meets the second duration threshold.

[0236] Similarly, in the case where there are too many UEs meeting the second paging threshold and paging notification signals cannot be sent to all of them at the same time, the paging information also includes an information element message #4. The information element message #4 is used to indicate the priority when sending paging notification signals to the UEs meeting the second paging threshold.

[0237] Optionally, the cell message #4 may be directly inserted into the indication information and sent;

[0238] S604, sending at least one paging message to the UE;

[0239] Specifically, when the base station receives the paging message sent by the AMF, it first initiates at least one paging to the UE, that is, it does not send a paging notification signal. If the paging is successful, the process ends after receiving the paging success indication information sent by the UE; otherwise, it continues to execute the measures in S605;

[0240] S605, determining whether the paging initiated to the UE meets a first paging threshold;

[0241] Optionally, determining whether the UE meets a first paging threshold based on capability indication information sent by the UE;

[0242] S606-S607: The base station sends at least one first type of paging notification signal before initiating paging to the UE, and then initiates paging. After the paging is successful, that is, after receiving the paging success indication information sent by the UE, the process ends. Otherwise, the measures in S608 are continued.

[0243] Steps S606-S607 are optional steps, and the base station may also choose not to send the first type of paging notification signal and directly execute the step in S608.

[0244] S608, determining whether the paging initiated to the UE meets a second paging threshold;

[0245] It should be understood that the starting point for judging the second paging threshold in S608 and the first paging threshold in S605 is the same, that is, a counter is set at the base station, and the first count threshold is met when the number of paging failures is greater than X3, and the second count threshold is met when the number of paging failures is greater than X7; or, a timer is set at the base station, and the first duration threshold is met when the paging duration is greater than X4, and the second duration threshold is met when the paging duration is greater than X8.

[0246] The specific measures in S609-S611 can refer to the contents in the aforementioned S511-S513 and will not be repeated here.

[0247] S612, after receiving the paging and the paging is successful, the UE sends a paging success indication message;

[0248] Optionally, the UE sends an RRC connection establishment request to the base station, instructing the UE to establish a connection through the RA process and enter a connected state, that is, the paging is successful.

[0249] If the base station does not receive the paging success indication information, S610 is executed again until the base station receives the paging success indication information.

[0250] In the embodiment of the present application, #1, #2, #3 and #4 involved in the above steps only serve as identifiers to distinguish different cell messages and should not be understood as limiting the embodiment of the present application.

[0251] It should be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the paging threshold can be divided into a first paging threshold and a second paging threshold, wherein the first paging threshold and the second paging threshold only serve as identification to distinguish different paging thresholds and should not be understood as limiting the embodiment of the present application.

[0252] The method provided in the embodiment of the present application is described in detail above in conjunction with Figures 3 to 6. Below, the apparatus provided in the embodiment of the present application is described in detail in conjunction with Figures 7 and 8. It should be understood that the description of the apparatus 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, they will not be repeated here.

[0253] Figure 7 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 700 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The device 700 includes a transceiver unit 710 and a processing unit 720. The transceiver unit 710 can communicate with the outside world, and the processing unit 720 is used to process data. The transceiver unit 710 can also be referred to as a communication interface or a communication unit.

[0254] Optionally, the transceiver unit 710 may also be referred to as a communication interface or communication unit, and may include a transmitting unit and / or a receiving unit. The transceiver unit 710 may be a transceiver (including a transmitter and / or a receiver), an input / output interface (including an input and / or output interface), a pin, or a circuit. The transceiver unit 710 may be configured to perform the transmitting and / or receiving steps in the above-described method embodiments.

[0255] Optionally, the processing unit 720 may be a processor (may include one or more), a processing circuit with processor functions, etc., and may be used to execute other steps except sending and receiving in the above method embodiment.

[0256] Optionally, the apparatus 700 further includes a storage unit, which may be a memory, an internal storage unit (e.g., a register, a cache, etc.), an external storage unit (e.g., a read-only memory, a random access memory, etc.), etc. The storage unit is used to store instructions, and the processing unit 720 executes the instructions stored in the storage unit to enable the communication apparatus to perform the above method.

[0257] It should be understood that the apparatus 700 herein is embodied in the form of a functional unit. The term "unit" herein may refer to an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (e.g., a shared processor, a dedicated processor, or a group processor, etc.) and memory for executing one or more software or firmware programs, combined logic circuits, and / or other suitable components that support the described functionality.

[0258] In addition, the transceiver unit 710 may also be a transceiver circuit (for example, may include a receiving circuit and a sending circuit), and the processing unit may be a processing circuit.

[0259] It should be noted that the device in FIG7 may also be a chip or chip system, such as a system on chip (SoC). The transceiver unit may be an input / output circuit or a communication interface, and the processing unit may be a processor, microprocessor, or integrated circuit integrated on the chip. This is not limited here.

[0260] The device 700 can be used to execute the actions performed by the network device in the above method embodiment. In this case, the device 700 can be a satellite or a component that can be configured on a satellite. The transceiver unit 710 is used to execute the transceiver-related operations on the network device side in the above method embodiment, and the processing unit 720 is used to execute the processing-related operations on the network device side in the above method embodiment.

[0261] Alternatively, the device 700 can be used to execute the actions performed by the terminal device in the above method embodiment. In this case, the device 700 can be a terminal device or a component that can be configured on the terminal device. The transceiver unit 710 is used to execute the transceiver-related operations on the terminal device side in the above method embodiment, and the processing unit 720 is used to execute the processing-related operations on the terminal device side in the above method embodiment.

[0262] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of a communication architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 800 shown in Figure 8 includes a processor 810, a memory 820, and a transceiver 830. The processor 810 is coupled to the memory 820 and is configured to execute instructions stored in the memory 820 to control the transceiver 830 to transmit and / or receive signals.

[0263] It should be understood that the processor 810 and memory 820 described above can be combined into a single processing device, with the processor 810 configured to execute program code stored in the memory 820 to implement the aforementioned functions. In a specific implementation, the memory 820 can also be integrated into the processor 810 or independent of the processor 810. It should be understood that the processor 810 can also correspond to the various processing units in the aforementioned communication device, and the transceiver 830 can correspond to the various receiving units and transmitting units in the aforementioned communication device.

[0264] It should also be understood that the transceiver 830 may include a receiver (or receiver) and a transmitter (or transmitter). The transceiver may further include an antenna, and the number of antennas may be one or more. The transceiver may also be a communication interface or interface circuit.

[0265] It should be understood that when the communication device 800 is a chip, the chip includes an interface unit and a processing unit. The interface unit may be an input / output circuit or a communication interface; and the processing unit may be a processor, microprocessor, or integrated circuit integrated on the chip.

[0266] During implementation, each step of the above method can be completed by an integrated logic circuit of the hardware in the processor or by instructions in the form of software. The steps of the method disclosed in conjunction with the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as being executed by a hardware processor, or can be executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor. The software module can be located in a storage medium mature in the art such as a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory or an electrically erasable programmable memory, a register, etc. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and completes the steps of the above method in conjunction with its hardware. To avoid repetition, it will not be described in detail here.

[0267] It should be noted that the processor in the embodiments of the present application can be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. During implementation, each step of the above method embodiment can be completed by an integrated logic circuit of the hardware in the processor or by instructions in the form of software. The above processor can be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component. The various methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented or executed. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or the processor can also be any conventional processor. The steps of the method disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as being executed by a hardware decoding processor, or can be executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module can be located in a storage medium mature in the art, such as random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, or electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, etc. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and completes the steps of the above method in combination with its hardware.

[0268] The present application also provides a computer-readable medium having a computer program stored thereon, which implements the functions of any of the above method embodiments when executed by a computer.

[0269] The present application also provides a computer program product, which implements the functions of any of the above method embodiments when executed by a computer.

[0270] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented by 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 instructions. When the computer instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrated therein. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a high-density digital video disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state disk (SSD)).

[0271] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software 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 should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0272] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0273] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of the units is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0274] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0275] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0276] If the functions are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application are essentially or partly contributed to the prior art or part of the technical solutions can be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage media include various media that can store program codes, such as USB flash drives, mobile hard drives, read-only memories (ROM), random access memories (RAM), magnetic disks or optical disks.

[0277] 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.

Claims

1. A non-terrestrial network (NTN) communication method, applied to network equipment, characterized in that: include: Determine a paging threshold, where the paging threshold includes a number threshold of paging failures and / or a duration threshold of a paging duration; Sending a paging notification signal to a user equipment UE according to the paging threshold, wherein the paging notification signal is used to notify the UE that paging will be initiated for the UE; Initiate paging to the UE.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The sending a paging notification signal to the UE according to the paging threshold includes: When the number of paging failures for the UE is greater than a first number threshold, sending the paging notification signal to the UE; or, When the paging duration for the UE is greater than a first duration threshold, the paging notification signal is sent to the UE.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The sending a paging notification signal to the UE according to the paging threshold further includes: When the number of paging failures for the UE is greater than a second number threshold, sending the paging notification signal to the UE; or when the paging duration for the UE is greater than a second duration threshold, sending the paging notification signal to the UE; Sending a first type of paging notification signal to the UE based on the first number threshold or the first duration threshold; Sending a second type of paging notification signal to the UE based on the second number threshold or the second duration threshold; The required receiving signal-to-noise ratio of the second type of paging notification signal is lower than that of the first type of paging notification signal.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The method further comprises: receiving capability indication information, where the capability indication information is used to indicate whether the UE supports receiving the paging notification signal; Determine whether the UE meets the paging threshold according to the capability indication information.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The method further includes: receiving priority indication information, where the priority indication information is used to indicate the paging priority of the UE; The sending the paging notification signal to the UE according to the paging threshold includes: sending the paging notification signal to the UE according to the paging priority of the UE.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that The network device is an access and mobility management function AMF, The sending a paging notification signal to the UE according to the paging threshold includes: instructing an access network device to send the paging notification signal to the UE according to the paging threshold.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that The network device is an access network device, The determining of the paging threshold further includes: receiving the paging threshold from the AMF.

8. A method of NTN communication, applied to a terminal device, characterized in that: include: receiving at least one first type of paging notification signal and / or a second type of paging notification signal; The required receiving signal-to-noise ratio of the second type of paging notification signal is lower than that of the first type of paging notification signal.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The method further comprises: Send capability indication information, where the capability indication information is used to indicate that the UE supports reception of the first type of paging notification signal and / or the second type of paging notification signal.

10. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 9, characterized in that The method further includes: sending priority indication information, where the priority indication information is used to indicate the paging priority of the UE.

11. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, characterized in that The receiving at least one first type of paging notification signal and / or second type of paging notification signal further includes: receiving the first type of paging notification signal and / or the second type of paging notification signal according to the signal quality of the UE; When the signal quality of the UE is lower than a first threshold and higher than a second threshold, the UE receives a paging notification signal of a first type; When the signal quality of the UE is lower than the second threshold, the UE receives the second type of paging notification signal, and the value of the second threshold is smaller than the first threshold.

12. An NTN communication device, characterized in that: include: Processing unit and transceiver unit, The processing unit is used to determine a paging threshold; The transceiver unit sends a paging notification signal to the UE according to the paging threshold, wherein the paging notification signal is used to notify the UE that the UE will be paged; The transceiver unit is further configured to receive paging according to the paging notification signal.

13. An NTN communication device, characterized in that: include: Processing unit and transceiver unit, The transceiver unit is used to receive a first type of paging notification signal and / or a second type of paging notification signal; The processing unit is used to determine the signal quality of the UE; and the UE receives the first type of paging notification signal and / or the second type of paging notification signal according to the signal quality.

14. An NTN communication device, characterized in that: include: a processor coupled to the memory; The processor is configured to execute the computer program stored in the memory so that the apparatus performs the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, or the apparatus performs the method according to any one of claims 8 to 11.

15. An NTN communication system, characterized in that: The method comprises the NTN communication device according to claim 12 and / or the NTN communication device according to claim 13.

16. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: include: 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 7, or the computer is caused to execute the method according to any one of claims 8 to 11.

17. A chip system, characterized in that: It comprises: a processor, used to call and run a computer program from a memory, so that a communication device equipped with the chip system executes a method as described in any one of claims 1 to 7, or so that a communication device equipped with the chip system executes a method as described in any one of claims 8 to 11.

18. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises instructions for executing the method of any one of claims 1 to 7, or comprises instructions for executing the method of any one of claims 8 to 11.

Images