Connection management method, terminal, and access network device

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of communications, and discloses a connection management method, a terminal, and an access network device. The connection management method in an embodiment of the present application comprises: when a service link between a terminal and a first access network device is unavailable, the terminal performing any one of the following connection management operations: maintaining an air interface connection with the first access network device; suspending an air interface connection; and releasing an air interface connection with the first access network device; and when the service link is available, the terminal performing at least one of the following connection management operations: recovering data transmission with the first access network device; recovering an air interface connection; and re-establishing an air interface connection with the first access network device.

Description

Connection management method, terminal and access network equipment

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the China Patent Office on January 12, 2024, with application number 202410053027.6 and invention name “Connection management method, terminal and access network equipment”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0003] The present application belongs to the field of communication technology, and specifically relates to a connection management method, a terminal, and an access network device. Background Art

[0004] In the relevant mechanism, the signaling or service data exchanged between the terminal and the core network element needs to ensure that the link between the terminal and the base station and the link between the base station and the core network element are connected.

[0005] Under the store-and-forward (S&F) mechanism, during data transmission between a terminal and a core network element, the service link will repeatedly change from available to unavailable, then available again. Therefore, managing air interface connections to ensure normal data transmission under the S&F mechanism is an urgent issue. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The embodiment of the present application provides a connection management method, which can solve the problem that data transmission cannot be performed normally under the S&F mechanism.

[0007] In a first aspect, a connection management method is provided, which is executed by a terminal, and the method includes:

[0008] When the service link between the terminal and the first access network device is unavailable, the terminal performs any one of the following connection management operations:

[0009] Maintaining an air interface connection with the first access network device;

[0010] Suspend the air interface connection;

[0011] Releasing the air interface connection with the first access network device;

[0012] If the service link is available, the terminal performs at least one of the following connection management operations:

[0013] Resuming data transmission with the first access network device;

[0014] Restore air interface connection;

[0015] Re-establish the air interface connection with the first access network device.

[0016] In a second aspect, a connection management method is provided, which is performed by an access network device. The method includes:

[0017] When the service link between the first access network device and the terminal is unavailable, the first access network device performs any one of the following connection management operations:

[0018] Maintain air interface connection with the terminal;

[0019] Suspend the air interface connection;

[0020] Release the air interface connection with the terminal;

[0021] When the service link is available, the first access network device performs at least one of the following connection management operations:

[0022] Resume data transmission with the terminal;

[0023] Restore air interface connection;

[0024] Re-establish the air interface connection with the terminal.

[0025] In a third aspect, a connection management device is provided, including:

[0026] The first execution module is configured to perform any one of the following connection management operations when the service link between the first access network device and the first access network device is unavailable:

[0027] Maintaining an air interface connection with the first access network device;

[0028] Suspend the air interface connection;

[0029] Releasing the air interface connection with the first access network device;

[0030] If the service link is available, perform at least one of the following connection management operations:

[0031] Resuming data transmission with the first access network device;

[0032] Restore air interface connection;

[0033] Re-establish the air interface connection with the first access network device.

[0034] In a fourth aspect, a connection management device is provided, including:

[0035] The second execution module is configured to perform any one of the following connection management operations when the service link between the terminal and the service link is unavailable:

[0036] Maintain air interface connection with the terminal;

[0037] Suspend the air interface connection;

[0038] Release the air interface connection with the terminal;

[0039] If the service link is available, perform at least one of the following connection management operations:

[0040] Resume data transmission with the terminal;

[0041] Restore air interface connection;

[0042] Re-establish the air interface connection with the terminal.

[0043] In a fifth aspect, a terminal is provided, comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores a program or instruction that can be run on the processor, and when the program or instruction is executed by the processor, the steps of the method described in the first aspect are implemented.

[0044] In a sixth aspect, a terminal is provided, comprising a processor and a communication interface, wherein the processor is configured to perform any one of the following connection management operations when a service link between the terminal and the first access network device is unavailable:

[0045] Maintaining an air interface connection with the first access network device;

[0046] Suspend the air interface connection;

[0047] Releasing the air interface connection with the first access network device;

[0048] If the service link is available, perform at least one of the following connection management operations:

[0049] Resuming data transmission with the first access network device;

[0050] Restore air interface connection;

[0051] Re-establish the air interface connection with the first access network device.

[0052] In the seventh aspect, an access network device is provided, which includes a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores programs or instructions that can be run on the processor, and when the program or instructions are executed by the processor, the steps of the method described in the second aspect are implemented.

[0053] In an eighth aspect, an access network device is provided, comprising a processor and a communication interface, wherein the processor is configured to perform any one of the following connection management operations when a service link between the device and the terminal is unavailable:

[0054] Maintain air interface connection with the terminal;

[0055] Suspend the air interface connection;

[0056] Release the air interface connection with the terminal;

[0057] If the service link is available, perform at least one of the following connection management operations:

[0058] Resume data transmission with the terminal;

[0059] Restore air interface connection;

[0060] Re-establish the air interface connection with the terminal.

[0061] In the ninth aspect, a readable storage medium is provided, on which a program or instruction is stored. When the program or instruction is executed by a processor, the steps of the method described in the first aspect are implemented, or the steps of the method described in the second aspect are implemented.

[0062] In the tenth aspect, a wireless communication system is provided, comprising: a terminal and a network side device, wherein the terminal can be used to execute the steps of the method described in the first aspect, and the access network device can be used to execute the steps of the method described in the second aspect.

[0063] In the eleventh aspect, a chip is provided, which includes a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is coupled to the processor, and the processor is used to run programs or instructions to implement the method as described in the first aspect, or to implement the method as described in the second aspect.

[0064] In the twelfth aspect, a computer program / program product is provided, which is stored in a storage medium and is executed by at least one processor to implement the method as described in the first aspect, or to implement the method as described in the second aspect.

[0065] In an embodiment of the present application, under the S&F mechanism, the status of the service link will change multiple times. In an embodiment of the present application, through air interface connection management, when the service link between the terminal and the first access network device is unavailable, the terminal can release the air interface connection with the first access network device, or still maintain the air interface connection with the first access network device; when the service link changes from unavailable to available, the terminal can directly resume data transmission with the first access network device, or realize data transmission with the first access network device by re-establishing the air interface connection with the first access network device, that is, normal data transmission under the S&F mechanism is realized based on effective connection management, solving the problem that data cannot be transmitted normally under the S&F mechanism. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0066] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system applicable to an embodiment of the present application;

[0067] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a non-terrestrial network to which embodiments of the present application may be applied;

[0068] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a satellite communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0069] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a satellite communication system based on store-and-forwarding according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0070] FIG5 is a flow chart of a connection management method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0071] FIG6 is a second flow chart of the connection management method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0072] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of one of the interactive flow charts of the connection management method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0073] FIG8 is a second interactive flow diagram of the connection management method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0074] FIG9 is a third interactive flow diagram of the connection management method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0075] FIG10 is a fourth interactive flow diagram of a connection management method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0076] FIG11 is a fifth interactive flow diagram of a connection management method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0077] FIG12 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a connection management device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0078] FIG13 is a second structural diagram of a connection management device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0079] FIG14 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0080] FIG15 is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0081] Figure 16 is a structural diagram of the access network device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0082] The following will be combined with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of this application to clearly 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 the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0083] The terms "first", "second", etc. in this application are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that the terms used in this way are interchangeable where appropriate, so that the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in an order other than those illustrated or described herein, and the objects distinguished by "first" and "second" are generally of the same type, and do not limit the number of objects, for example, the first object can be one or more. In addition, "or" in this application represents at least one of the connected objects. For example, "A or B" covers three options, namely, Option 1: including A but not including B; Option 2: including B but not including A; Option 3: including both A and B. The character " / " generally indicates that the objects associated before and after are in an "or" relationship.

[0084] The term "indication" in this application can be either a direct indication (or explicit indication) or an indirect indication (or implicit indication). A direct indication can be understood as the sender explicitly informing the receiver of specific information, the operation to be performed, or the requested result, etc. in the instruction sent; an indirect indication can be understood as the receiver determining the corresponding information based on the instruction sent by the sender, or making a judgment and determining the operation to be performed or the requested result, etc. based on the judgment result.

[0085] It is worth noting that the technology described in the embodiments of the present application is not limited to the Long Term Evolution (LTE) / LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) system, but can also be used in other wireless communication systems, such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Single-carrier Frequency-Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) or other systems. The terms "system" and "network" in the embodiments of the present application are often used interchangeably, and the technology described can be used for the systems and radio technologies mentioned above, as well as for other systems and radio technologies. The following description describes a New Radio (NR) system for illustrative purposes, and NR terminology is used in most of the following description, but these technologies can also be applied to systems other than NR systems, such as 6th generation (6G) systems. thGeneration, 6G) communication system.

[0086] FIG1 is a block diagram of a wireless communication system applicable to an embodiment of the present application. The wireless communication system includes a terminal 11 and a network-side device 12. The terminal 11 may be a mobile phone, a tablet computer (Tablet Personal Computer), a laptop computer (Laptop Computer), a notebook computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld computer, a netbook, an ultra-mobile personal computer (UMPC), a mobile internet device (MID), an augmented reality (AR), a virtual reality (VR) device, a robot, a wearable device (Wearable Device), an aircraft (Flight Vehicle), a vehicle-mounted device (VUE), a ship-mounted device, a pedestrian user equipment (PUE), a smart home (home appliances with wireless communication capabilities, such as refrigerators, televisions, washing machines, or furniture), a game console, a personal computer (PC), an ATM, or a self-service machine, or other terminal-side devices. Wearable devices include: smart watches, smart bracelets, smart headphones, smart glasses, smart jewelry (smart bracelets, smart bracelets, smart rings, smart necklaces, smart anklets, smart anklets, etc.), smart wristbands, smart clothing, etc. Among them, the vehicle-mounted device can also be called a vehicle-mounted terminal, a vehicle-mounted controller, a vehicle-mounted module, a vehicle-mounted component, a vehicle-mounted chip or a vehicle-mounted unit, etc. It should be noted that the specific type of the terminal 11 is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. The network side device 12 may include an access network device or a core network device, wherein the access network device may also be called a radio access network (Radio Access Network, RAN) device, a radio access network function or a radio access network unit. The access network device may include a base station, a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) or a wireless fidelity (WiFi) node, etc.Among them, the base station can be called Node B (NB), Evolved Node B (eNB), the next generation Node B (gNB), New Radio Node B (NR Node B), access point, Relay Base Station (RBS), Serving Base Station (SBS), Base Transceiver Station (BTS), radio base station, radio transceiver, Basic Service Set (BSS), Extended Service Set (ESS), Home Node B (HNB), Home evolved Node B (home evolved Node B), Transmission Reception Point (TRP), on-board access network equipment, on-board central unit (CU) of access network equipment, on-board distributed unit (DIU) of access network equipment Unit, DU), CU of the on-board access network device, DU of the on-board access network device or other appropriate terms in the field. As long as the same technical effect is achieved, the base station is not limited to specific technical vocabulary. It should be noted that in the embodiment of the present application, only the base station in the NR system is introduced as an example, and the specific type of the base station is not limited.

[0087] The core network equipment may include but is not limited to at least one of the following: core network node, core network function, mobility management entity (MME), access mobility management function (AMF), session management function (SMF), user plane function (UPF), policy control function (PCF), policy and charging rules function unit (PCRF), edge application service discovery function (EASDF), unified data management (UDM), unified data repository (UDR), home user server (HSS), centralized network configuration (CNC), network storage function (NRF), network exposure function (NEF), local NEF (L-NEF), binding support function (BSF), application function ( It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, only the core network device in the NR system is introduced as an example, and the specific type of the core network device is not limited.

[0088] In order to facilitate a clearer understanding of the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application, some relevant background knowledge is first introduced as follows.

[0089] 1. Introduction to NTN (Non-terrestrial networks);

[0090] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a typical NTN deployment scenario in the related art. As shown in FIG2 , the link between the user equipment (UE) and the satellite is called a service link (i.e., a service link), which can also be called a feeder link. The link between the satellite and the ground gateway is called a feeder link (i.e., a feeder link). In certain scenarios (such as low-orbit satellites (LEO)), due to satellite movement, service link and / or feeder link switching may occur. For service link switching, the service satellite for all terminals in the cell needs to be switched from one satellite to another. For feeder link switching, a satellite needs to be switched from one ground gateway to another.

[0091] There are two types of NTN communication systems: those based on transparent payloads and those based on regenerative payloads. In the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Releases 17 and 18, only NTN systems based on transparent payloads are considered. In this deployment environment, terminals, base stations, and core network equipment are all deployed on the ground, and communication data between terminals and network equipment is relayed via satellites in the sky. In this system, satellites only forward data between base stations and terminals and do not decode or process this data. For NTN systems based on regenerative payloads, satellites have some or all base station functions and can decode and process uplink or downlink data. For example, if a satellite has all the functions of an access network, the access network equipment can be referred to as on-board access network equipment or on-board base station equipment. In layman's terms, this can also be referred to as base station-on-satellite. In this case, the access network's central unit (CU) functions are referred to as the on-board access network's CU, and the access network's DU functions are referred to as the on-board access network's distributed unit (DU). If a satellite has the access network central unit (CU) functionality, then the access network central unit (CU) can be referred to as the on-board CU of the access network equipment. More colloquially, this can also be referred to as the CU-on-satellite. If a satellite has the access network DU functionality, then the access network DU can be referred to as the on-board DU of the access network equipment. More colloquially, this can also be referred to as the DU-on-satellite.

[0092] 2. Introduction to S&F (Store and forward);

[0093] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a normal / default satellite communication system in the related art. As shown in FIG3 , in the NTN communication system, in order to realize data or signaling interaction between the terminal and the ground network, it is necessary to ensure that the service link and the feeder link can remain connected at the same time.

[0094] However, in some cases, such as the initial deployment of satellite networks, it is not guaranteed that the service link and the feeder link can maintain connectivity at the same time. In order to support data transmission (e.g., delay-tolerant service data), a store-and-forward communication mode is proposed.

[0095] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a store-and-forward satellite communication system in the related art. As shown in Figure 4, taking uplink data transmission as an example, when a terminal has uplink data to send, it can first send it to the satellite via the service link (as shown in step A in the figure), and the satellite stores the relevant data. When the satellite reaches a feeder link that is available, the stored data is forwarded to the ground network (as shown in step B in the figure). Similarly, when downlink data needs to be sent to the terminal, the ground network first sends the data to the satellite, and the satellite stores the relevant downlink data. When the satellite reaches a service link that is available, the stored data is forwarded to the terminal.

[0096] The connection management method provided in the embodiments of the present application is described in detail below through some embodiments and their application scenarios in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0097] FIG5 is a flow chart of a connection management method according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG5 , the method includes:

[0098] Step 501: When a service link between a terminal and a first access network device is unavailable, the terminal performs any one of the following connection management operations:

[0099] Maintaining an air interface connection with the first access network device; illustratively, the terminal maintains a logical air interface connection with the first device;

[0100] Releasing the air interface connection with the first access network device;

[0101] Suspend the air interface connection; illustratively, when the terminal's access layer security is activated, the terminal performs a process of suspending the air interface connection, such as entering an inactive state. In this state, the terminal maintains the terminal's access layer context AS context.

[0102] If the service link is available, the terminal performs at least one of the following connection management operations:

[0103] Resume data transmission with the first access network device; illustratively, this connection management operation applies to situations where the terminal's access layer AS security is activated, or AS security is not activated, or the terminal does not have AS security (e.g., a terminal with only a control plane, CP only UE). Reestablish an air interface connection with the first access network device; illustratively, this connection management operation applies to situations where the terminal's access layer AS security is activated, or AS security is not activated, or the terminal does not have AS security (e.g., a terminal with only a control plane, CP only UE).

[0104] Restore the air interface connection; exemplarily, such as executing the RRC resume procedure. This connection management operation is only applicable to the case where the terminal's access layer AS is securely activated. Exemplarily, when the terminal's access layer is securely activated, the terminal executes the RRC resume procedure to enable the terminal to enter the connected state from the inactive state.

[0105] Optionally, the service link is a satellite link. The service link and the feeder link are not available at the same time; wherein the feeder link is a feeder link between the first access network device and the core network device corresponding to the terminal.

[0106] Specifically, under the S&F mechanism, during the data transmission between the terminal and the core network element, the service link will experience multiple processes of service link available, service link unavailable, service link available..., that is, the status of the service link will change multiple times. For example, during the registration process, the terminal needs to transmit data with the core network element. During this period, the terminal will experience multiple processes of service link available, service link unavailable, service link available... Of course, in processes such as Mobile Originated Early Data Transmission (MO-EDT), Mobile Terminated Early Data Transmission (MT-EDT), control plane signaling optimization (such as Control Plane CIoT EPS / 5GS optimisation), user plane signaling optimization (such as User Plane CIoT EPS / 5GS optimisations), etc., it may occur. This application is applicable to but not limited to the above scenarios. It should also be noted that this application is applicable to connection management when the service link is unavailable or unavailable in one of the above processes. After a process is completed, such as successful registration, how the terminal manages the connection can be based on relevant mechanisms, such as returning to the idle state according to the network side configuration.

[0107] Optionally, when the service link between the terminal and the first access network device is unavailable, the terminal may release the air interface connection with the first access network device, or may still maintain the air interface connection with the first access network device, such as a logical air interface connection.

[0108] Optionally, when the service link changes from unavailable to available, if the terminal still maintains an air interface connection with the first access network device, the terminal can directly resume data transmission with the first access network device; otherwise, the terminal needs to re-establish the air interface connection with the first access network device before it can transmit data with the first access network device.

[0109] It should be noted that the above-mentioned connection management is applicable before AS security is activated, or before the terminal successfully registers, etc. For example, in the case where AS security is not activated or there is no AS security (such as a terminal CP only UE with only a control plane), when the service link is about to become unavailable, the network side can provide RRC release with suspend config to the terminal, so that the terminal can release the air interface connection while retaining the terminal context (such as the terminal is in the NAS layer data transmission state, etc.). For example, in this case, the terminal does not need to maintain the AS context. When the service link is available, since the AS security of the terminal is not activated, it is impossible to resume the process based on the relevant RRC (i.e., RRC resume procedure, for example, by sending an RRC resume request, which carries a short MAC-I parameter based on AS security processing). At this time, the terminal needs to re-establish an air interface connection. In layman's terms, when the service link is available, the terminal can abandon the access layer context AS context and re-establish the air interface connection.

[0110] Optionally, the terminal in the embodiment of the present application has a store-and-forward capability and / or can transmit data through a store-and-forward operation. The first access network device includes any one of the following: an onboard base station, a distributed unit (DU) of an onboard base station, and an onboard distributed unit DU of a base station. The first access network device may be an S&F type base station. The first access network device may also be referred to as an anchor base station or anchor satellite of the terminal, which is a base station or satellite that stores the terminal context.

[0111] Optionally, the service link being available can be understood as the service link between the terminal and the first access network device being connected. Exemplarily, in the case where the first access network device is a satellite base station, it can be generally understood that the service link being available can be understood as the terminal being under the coverage of the first satellite base station of the above-mentioned first satellite, or there is a satellite corresponding to the first satellite base station above the terminal; the service link being unavailable can be understood as the service link between the terminal and the first access network device being disconnected. Exemplarily, in the case where the first access network device is a satellite base station, it can be generally understood that the service link being available can be understood as the terminal being not under the coverage of the first satellite base station of the above-mentioned first satellite, or there is no satellite corresponding to the first satellite base station above the terminal.

[0112] It should be noted that under the S&F mechanism, the status of the service link will change multiple times. The terminal can perform the above connection management operations multiple times according to the status changes of the service link, thereby achieving normal data transmission under the S&F mechanism.

[0113] In the connection management method provided in the embodiment of the present application, under the S&F mechanism, the status of the service link will change multiple times. In the embodiment of the present application, through air interface connection management, when the service link between the terminal and the first access network device is unavailable, the terminal can release the air interface connection with the first access network device, or still maintain the air interface connection with the first access network device; when the service link changes from unavailable to available, the terminal can directly resume data transmission with the first access network device, or realize data transmission with the first access network device by re-establishing the air interface connection with the first access network device, that is, normal data transmission under the S&F mechanism is realized based on effective connection management, solving the problem that data cannot be transmitted normally under the S&F mechanism.

[0114] Optionally, when the terminal maintains an air interface connection with the first access network device, the terminal suspends data transmission with the first access network device;

[0115] or,

[0116] When the terminal releases the air interface connection with the first access network device, the terminal saves the context information of the terminal.

[0117] Specifically, if the service link between the terminal and the first access network device is unavailable, the terminal can still maintain the air interface connection with the first access network device and suspend data transmission with the first access network device. When the service link is available, the terminal can resume data transmission with the first access network device, thereby achieving normal data transmission under the S&F mechanism.

[0118] Alternatively, when the service link between the terminal and the first access network device is unavailable, the terminal may also release the air interface connection with the first access network device and save the context information of the terminal, thereby preventing the terminal from returning to the initial state, so that the terminal can correctly decode the received data during data transmission. Optionally, the context information of the terminal includes at least one of the following: the AS context information of the terminal, the NAS context information of the terminal. Exemplarily, the context information of the terminal may include the NAS layer data transmission status, etc. In the method of the above embodiment, when the terminal maintains the air interface connection with the first access network device, the terminal suspends the data transmission with the first access network device; or, when the terminal releases the air interface connection with the first access network device, the terminal saves the context information of the terminal; so that when the service link changes from unavailable to available, the terminal can continue to perform data transmission normally, thereby improving the efficiency and accuracy of data transmission.

[0119] Optionally, suspending data transmission with the first access network device includes at least one of the following:

[0120] The terminal suspends data transmission with the first access network device according to the first auxiliary information sent by the first access network device;

[0121] The terminal suspends data transmission with the first access network device according to the cell coverage stop time information corresponding to the first access network device.

[0122] Specifically, the terminal may suspend data transmission with the first access network device according to the first auxiliary information sent by the first access network device; optionally, the first auxiliary information may include information related to the terminal suspending data transmission.

[0123] The first auxiliary information includes at least one of the following:

[0124] First indication information; the first indication information is used to instruct the terminal to suspend data transmission with the first access network device;

[0125] Second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate that the service link is unavailable;

[0126] Start time information of suspended data transmission;

[0127] Information about the duration of suspended data transmission;

[0128] End time information of suspended data transmission;

[0129] The time when the service link will be available next time.

[0130] Optionally, the first access network device can send first auxiliary information to the terminal through dedicated signaling. After receiving the first auxiliary information sent by the first access network device, the terminal can suspend data transmission with the first access network device according to the first auxiliary information, and can determine the start time, end time, duration and other information of the suspended data transmission. Therefore, when the service link is available, the terminal can promptly resume data transmission with the first access network device, thereby realizing normal data transmission under the S&F mechanism.

[0131] Optionally, the first access network device may also send cell coverage stop time information to the terminal through a system message, and the terminal suspends data transmission with the first access network device according to the received cell coverage stop time information corresponding to the first access network device.

[0132] In the method of the above embodiment, the terminal can suspend data transmission with the first access network device based on the first auxiliary information sent by the first access network device. The terminal can also suspend data transmission with the first access network device based on the cell coverage stop time information corresponding to the first access network device. Thus, when the service link is unavailable, the terminal can be accurately and flexibly instructed to suspend data transmission through various methods, effectively implementing connection management under the S&F mechanism. Furthermore, when the service link is available, the terminal can promptly resume data transmission with the first access network device, achieving normal data transmission under the S&F mechanism.

[0133] Optionally, when the service link is unavailable, the method further includes any one of the following:

[0134] The terminal attempts to camp on a cell covered by the second access network device;

[0135] The terminal stops attempting to camp on the cell covered by the second access network device.

[0136] Specifically, when the service link is unavailable, the terminal can try to reside in a cell covered by the second access network device to receive paging messages such as emergency calls, or it can stop looking for a new cell to reside in and continue waiting for the service link between the terminal and the first access network device to be restored.

[0137] Optionally, the terminal stops attempting to camp on a cell covered by the second access network device, including at least one of the following:

[0138] The terminal stops searching for cells covered by the second access network device;

[0139] The terminal stops staying in the cell covered by the second access network device;

[0140] The terminal stops monitoring the link with the second access network device;

[0141] The terminal suspends access layer AS operations related to the first access network device.

[0142] Specifically, when the service link is unavailable, the terminal can stop looking for a new cell to reside in, that is, stop searching for the cell covered by the second access network device, stop residing in the cell covered by the second access network device, stop monitoring the link between the second access network device and suspend the access layer AS operation related to the first access network device, and wait for the service link between the terminal and the first access network device to be restored before transmitting data.

[0143] Optionally, the terminal attempts to camp on a cell covered by the second access network device, including at least one of the following:

[0144] The terminal suspends the AS operation related to the first access network device;

[0145] The terminal performs cell selection and / or cell reselection;

[0146] The terminal resides in a cell covered by the second access network device;

[0147] The terminal receives a paging message sent by the second access network device;

[0148] The terminal receives a system message sent by the second access network device.

[0149] Specifically, when the service link is unavailable, the terminal can try to reside in the cell covered by the second access network device, that is, the terminal suspends the AS operation related to the first access network device, performs cell selection and / or cell reselection, resides in the cell covered by the second access network device, receives paging messages sent by the second access network device, and receives system messages sent by the second access network device, so that the terminal resides in the cell covered by the second access network device, and can receive emergency calls and other messages in a timely manner.

[0150] In the method of the above embodiment, when the service link is unavailable, the terminal can attempt to reside in the second access network device, so that the terminal can receive emergency calls and other messages in a timely manner; the terminal can also stop looking for a new cell to reside in and wait until the service link with the first access network device is restored before transmitting data, thereby meeting the needs of different scenarios. Optionally, resuming data transmission with the first access network device includes at least one of the following:

[0151] The terminal obtains the service link available time information, and resumes data transmission with the first access network device according to the service link available time information;

[0152] When the terminal resides in the cell covered by the first access network device again, the terminal resumes data transmission with the first access network device.

[0153] Specifically, when the service link becomes available from being unavailable, the terminal needs to resume data transmission in a timely manner to achieve normal data transmission under the S&F mechanism. Optionally, the terminal can resume data transmission by obtaining information about the time when the service link becomes available. The terminal can also resume data transmission with the first access network device when it determines that it is once again located in a cell covered by the first access network device.

[0154] Optionally, the terminal may know that it is residing in the first access network device again based on the identification information of the satellite; or the terminal may know that it is residing in the first access network device again based on the identification information of the access network device.

[0155] According to the method of the above embodiment, the terminal can restore data transmission based on the obtained service link available time information, or it can restore data transmission by judging whether it resides in the cell covered by the first access network device again. In this way, when the service link becomes available from unavailable, data transmission can be restored in a timely and accurate manner, thereby realizing normal data transmission under the S&F mechanism.

[0156] Optionally, resuming data transmission with the first access network device includes resuming at least one of the following:

[0157] Receiving a downlink non-access stratum NAS message sent by the first access network device;

[0158] receiving downlink service data sent by the first access network device;

[0159] receiving feedback information related to uplink service data sent by the first access network device;

[0160] Sending an uplink NAS message to the first access network device;

[0161] Sending uplink service data to the first access network device;

[0162] Send feedback information related to downlink service data to the first access network device.

[0163] Optionally, the terminal obtains the service link available time information, including at least one of the following: the terminal obtains the service link available time information based on the ephemeris information corresponding to the first access network device;

[0164] The terminal obtains the service link available time information based on the received service link available time information sent by the first access network device;

[0165] The terminal obtains the service link available time information based on the arrival time information of the cell covered by the first access network device provided by the second access network device.

[0166] Specifically, after obtaining the service link available time information, the terminal can promptly and accurately resume data transmission based on the obtained service link available time information, thereby improving data transmission efficiency. Optionally, the first access network device can directly send the service link available time information to the terminal; the terminal can also determine the service link available time information based on ephemeris information, or determine the service link available time information based on the arrival time information of the cell covered by the first access network device provided by the second access network device. This allows the terminal to obtain the service link available time information based on multiple methods, thereby resuming data transmission in a timely manner.

[0167] Optionally, the service link available time information includes any one of the following:

[0168] First time information; the first time information is the time when the service link between the terminal and the first access network device is available;

[0169] First start time information; the first start time information is used to indicate the start time when the service link is unavailable;

[0170] First end time information, where the first end time information is used to indicate an end time when the service link becomes unavailable;

[0171] First duration information: The first duration information is used to indicate the duration of time during which the service link is unavailable.

[0172] Specifically, the service link available time information may include the time when the service link is available, and may also include the start time when the service link is unavailable, the end time when the service link is unavailable, and the duration of the service link being unavailable, thereby accurately indicating the service link available time information in a variety of ways, and the terminal can resume data transmission in a timely manner when the service link becomes available from unavailable.

[0173] Optionally, the service link available time information is provided to the terminal by the first access network device before the service link becomes unavailable. The first access network device may provide the service link available time information to the terminal through a system message or a dedicated message.

[0174] Optionally, after obtaining the service link availability information, the terminal can set a timer; wherein the start time of the timer corresponds to the start time of the service link unavailability, and the timer duration is the same as the service link unavailability duration. Optionally, if the timer expires, the terminal will know that the service link has changed from an unavailable state to an available state, and can thus resume data transmission in a timely manner, achieving normal data transmission under the S&F mechanism.

[0175] In the method of the above embodiment, the first access network device can directly send the service link available time information to the terminal; the terminal can also determine the service link available time information based on the ephemeris information, and can also determine the service link available time information based on the arrival time information of the cell covered by the first access network device provided by the second access network device. This allows the terminal to accurately obtain the service link available time information based on a variety of methods, and further, it can promptly resume data transmission when the service link becomes available from unavailable, thereby realizing normal data transmission under the S&F mechanism.

[0176] Optionally, when the terminal resumes data transmission with the first access network device, the method further includes at least one of the following:

[0177] The terminal performs uplink synchronization with the first access network device;

[0178] The terminal performs downlink synchronization with the first access network device.

[0179] Exemplarily, when the terminal resumes data transmission with the first access network, the terminal further reports timing advance (TA) information.

[0180] Optionally, the suspending the air interface connection includes any one of the following:

[0181] The terminal enters an idle state and a suspended state. For example, the terminal enters an RRC idle with suspend state, which is applicable to LTE scenarios.

[0182] The terminal enters an inactive state. For example, the terminal enters an RRC inactive state, which is applicable to NR scenarios.

[0183] It should be noted that the terminal can be configured based on the network side, such as by sending an RRC release message to the terminal, wherein the message carries air interface suspension indication information, such as rrc-suspend, or carries suspension configuration information, such as Suspend config. In addition, the message may also carry indication information, wherein the indication information is used to indicate that the service link is unavailable.

[0184] Optionally, the above-mentioned restoration of the air interface connection includes: the terminal performing a radio resource control restoration process RRC resume process. It should be noted that the terminal can only perform the operation of restoring the air interface connection when the AS of the terminal is securely activated. Otherwise, the terminal re-establishes the air interface connection.

[0185] Optionally, releasing the air interface connection with the first access network device includes at least one of the following:

[0186] The terminal releases the air interface connection with the first access network device according to the auxiliary information sent by the first access network device;

[0187] The terminal releases the air interface connection with the first access network device according to the cell coverage stop time information corresponding to the first access network device.

[0188] Specifically, the terminal can release the air interface connection with the first access network device based on the auxiliary information sent by the first access network device. The terminal can also release the air interface connection with the first access network device based on the cell coverage stop time information corresponding to the first access network device. Thus, when the service link is unavailable, the terminal can be accurately and flexibly instructed to release the air interface connection with the first access network device through various methods, effectively implementing connection management under the S&F mechanism. Furthermore, when the service link becomes available from being unavailable, the terminal can promptly resume data transmission with the first access network device, achieving normal data transmission under the S&F mechanism.

[0189] Optionally, the auxiliary information includes information about a reason for releasing the air interface connection; the reason information includes at least one of the following:

[0190] The service link is disconnected;

[0191] The service link is unavailable;

[0192] Store-and-forward communication mode.

[0193] Optionally, re-establishing the air interface connection with the first access network device includes at least one of the following:

[0194] The terminal obtains the service link available time information, and re-establishes the air interface connection with the first access network device according to the service link available time information;

[0195] When the terminal resides on the first access network device again, re-establishing the air interface connection with the first access network device;

[0196] The terminal re-establishes the air interface connection with the first access network device according to the paging message sent by the first access network device;

[0197] The terminal re-establishes the air interface connection with the first access network device according to the short message sent by the first access network device.

[0198] Specifically, when the service link changes from unavailable to available, the terminal can re-establish an air interface connection with the first access network device, thereby achieving normal data transmission under the S&F mechanism. Optionally, the terminal can re-establish an air interface connection with the first access network device by obtaining service link availability time information; the terminal can also re-establish an air interface connection with the first access network device if it determines that it is once again residing in a cell covered by the first access network device; the terminal can also re-establish an air interface connection with the first access network device based on a paging message and a short message. Optionally, the paging message and the short message can include paging reason information; wherein the paging reason information includes at least one of the following: a store-and-forward communication mode and the arrival of downlink data.

[0199] Optionally, the terminal may know that it is residing in the first access network device again based on the identification information of the satellite; or the terminal may know that it is residing in the first access network device again based on the identification information of the access network device.

[0200] Optionally, the terminal can obtain the service link available time information based on the ephemeris information corresponding to the first access network device; the terminal can also obtain the service link available time information based on the service link available time information received and sent by the first access network device; the terminal can also obtain the service link available time information based on the arrival time information of the cell covered by the first access network device provided by the second access network device, thereby realizing multiple ways to accurately obtain the service link available time information.

[0201] According to the method of the above embodiment, when the service link changes from unavailable to available, the terminal can resume data transmission based on the obtained service link available time information, or it can resume data transmission by judging whether it is again residing in a cell covered by the first access network device. In this way, when the service link changes from unavailable to available, data transmission can be resumed in a timely and accurate manner, thereby realizing normal data transmission under the S&F mechanism.

[0202] Optionally, re-establishing the air interface connection with the first access network device includes any one of the following:

[0203] The NAS of the terminal triggers the AS of the terminal to re-establish an air interface connection with the first access network device;

[0204] The AS of the terminal triggers re-establishment of the air interface connection with the first access network device.

[0205] Specifically, the NAS layer can trigger the AS layer to reestablish the air interface connection. For example, when the service link becomes available from being unavailable, the NAS layer of the terminal triggers the AS layer of the terminal to reestablish the air interface connection. Alternatively, the AS layer can trigger the reestablishment of the air interface connection. Optionally, when the terminal reestablishes the air interface connection with the first access network device, the terminal's behavior also includes discarding the stored AS context.

[0206] Optionally, the connection management method further includes:

[0207] The terminal indicates the air interface connection establishment reason to the first access network device; the air interface connection establishment reason includes: a store-and-forward communication mode.

[0208] Specifically, when reestablishing an air interface connection with a first access network device, the terminal may indicate to the first access network device a reason for establishing the air interface connection; the reason for establishing the air interface connection may include: a store-and-forward communication mode. Alternatively, the terminal may directly send the reason for establishing the air interface connection to the first access network device, or the terminal may send an air interface connection establishment request message to the first access network device; the air interface connection establishment request message is used to indicate the reason for establishing the air interface connection.

[0209] For example, when the terminal is reestablishing an air interface connection with the first access network device, the terminal indicates the air interface connection establishment reason to the first access network device, where the connection establishment reason is used to indicate that the terminal accesses the network based on S&F. Optionally, the air interface connection establishment reason can be provided in any of the following ways:

[0210] Newly introduced connection establishment cause values, for example, the introduction of new connection establishment cause indications, such as S&F;

[0211] Through the newly introduced connection establishment request message. For example, through the newly introduced connection establishment request message, it is used to inform the network terminal to access the network based on the S&F mode.

[0212] According to the method of the above embodiment, when the service link becomes available from unavailable, the terminal can directly send the air interface connection establishment reason to the first access network device during the process of re-establishing the air interface connection with the first access network device. The terminal can also send an air interface connection establishment request message to the first access network device, and indicate the air interface connection establishment reason through the air interface connection establishment request message, thereby realizing timely and accurate re-establishment of the air interface connection with the first access network device when the service link becomes available from unavailable, and then data transmission can be carried out based on the re-established air interface connection, thereby realizing normal data transmission under the S&F mechanism.

[0213] FIG6 is a second flow chart of a connection management method provided in an embodiment of the present application, the method comprising:

[0214] Step 601: When a service link between a first access network device and a terminal is unavailable, the first access network device performs any one of the following connection management operations:

[0215] Maintaining an air interface connection with the first access network device;

[0216] Suspend the air interface connection; illustratively, when the terminal's access layer security is activated, the terminal performs a process of suspending the air interface connection, such as entering an inactive state. In this state, the terminal maintains the terminal's access layer context AS context.

[0217] Releasing the air interface connection with the first access network device;

[0218] If the service link is available, the terminal performs at least one of the following connection management operations:

[0219] Resume data transmission with the first access network device; illustratively, the connection management operation is applicable to the case where the access layer AS security of the terminal is activated or AS security is not activated or the terminal has no AS security (such as a terminal with only a control plane CP only UE).

[0220] Restore air interface connection;

[0221] Re-establish the air interface connection with the first access network device. Exemplarily, this connection management operation is applicable to the case where the access layer AS security of the terminal is activated or AS security is not activated or the terminal does not have AS security (such as a control plane only terminal CP only UE).

[0222] Restore the air interface connection; exemplarily, such as executing the RRC resume procedure. This connection management operation is only applicable to the case where the terminal's access layer AS is securely activated. Exemplarily, when the terminal's access layer is securely activated, the terminal executes the RRC resume procedure to enable the terminal to enter the connected state from the inactive state.

[0223] Specifically, under the S&F mechanism, during the data transmission between the terminal and the core network element, the service link will experience multiple processes of service link available, service link unavailable, service link available..., that is, the status of the service link will change multiple times. For example, during the registration process, the terminal needs to transmit data with the core network element. During this period, the terminal will experience multiple processes of service link available, service link unavailable, service link available... Of course, in processes such as Mobile Originated Early Data Transmission (MO-EDT), Mobile Terminated Early Data Transmission (MT-EDT), control plane signaling optimization (such as Control Plane CIoT EPS / 5GS optimisation), user plane signaling optimization (such as User Plane CIoT EPS / 5GS optimisations), etc., it may occur. This application is applicable to but not limited to the above scenarios. It should also be noted that this application is applicable to connection management when the service link is unavailable or unavailable in one of the above processes. After a process is completed, such as successful registration, how the terminal manages the connection can be based on relevant mechanisms, such as returning to the idle state according to the network side configuration.

[0224] Optionally, when the service link between the first access network device and the terminal is unavailable, the first access network device may release the air interface connection with the terminal, or may still maintain the air interface connection with the terminal.

[0225] Optionally, when the service link changes from unavailable to available, if the first access network device still maintains an air interface connection with the first access network device, the first access network device can directly resume data transmission with the terminal; otherwise, the first access network device needs to re-establish the air interface connection with the terminal before it can transmit data with the terminal.

[0226] It should be noted that the above-mentioned connection management is applicable before AS security is activated, or before the terminal successfully registers, etc. For example, in the case where AS security is not activated or there is no AS security (such as a terminal CP only UE with only a control plane), when the service link is about to become unavailable, the network side can provide RRC release with suspend config to the terminal, so that the terminal can release the air interface connection while retaining the terminal context (such as the terminal is in the NAS layer data transmission state, etc.). For example, in this case, the terminal does not need to maintain the AS context. When the service link is available, since the AS security of the terminal is not activated, it is impossible to resume the process based on the relevant RRC (i.e., RRC resume procedure, for example, by sending an RRC resume request, which carries a short MAC-I parameter based on AS security processing). At this time, the terminal needs to re-establish an air interface connection. In layman's terms, when the service link is available, the terminal can abandon the access layer context AS context and re-establish the air interface connection.

[0227] Optionally, the terminal in the embodiment of the present application has a store-and-forward capability and / or can transmit data through a store-and-forward operation. Optionally, the first access network device includes any one of the following: an onboard base station, a distributed unit (DU) of an onboard base station, and an onboard distributed unit DU of a base station. The first access network device may be an S&F type base station, and the first access network device may also be referred to as an anchor base station or anchor satellite of the terminal, which is a base station or satellite that stores the terminal context. When the service link is available, the terminal performs data transmission through an air interface connection.

[0228] Optionally, "the service link is available" can be understood as meaning that the service link between the terminal and the first access network device is connected; exemplarily, when the first access network device is a satellite base station, generally speaking, "the service link is available" can be understood as meaning that the terminal is covered by the first satellite base station of the first satellite, or that there is a satellite corresponding to the first satellite base station overhead; "the service link is unavailable" can be understood as meaning that the service link between the terminal and the first access network device is disconnected. Exemplarily, when the first access network device is a satellite base station, generally speaking, "the service link is available" can be understood as meaning that the terminal is not covered by the first satellite base station of the first satellite, or that there is no satellite corresponding to the first satellite base station overhead.

[0229] It should be noted that under the S&F mechanism, the status of the service link will change multiple times, so the first access network device needs to perform the above connection management operations multiple times according to the status changes of the service link, so as to achieve normal data transmission under the S&F mechanism.

[0230] In the connection management method provided in the embodiment of the present application, under the S&F mechanism, the status of the service link will change multiple times. In the embodiment of the present application, through air interface connection management, when the service link between the first access network device and the terminal is unavailable, the first access network device can release the air interface connection with the terminal, or still maintain the air interface connection with the terminal; when the service link changes from unavailable to available, the first access network device can directly resume data transmission with the terminal, or realize data transmission with the terminal by re-establishing the air interface connection with the terminal, thereby realizing normal data transmission under the S&F mechanism based on effective connection management, and solving the problem that data cannot be transmitted normally under the S&F mechanism.

[0231] Optionally, when the first access network device maintains an air interface connection with the terminal, the first access network device suspends data transmission with the terminal;

[0232] or,

[0233] When the first access network device releases the air interface connection with the terminal, the first access network device saves the context information.

[0234] Optionally, the connection management method further includes at least one of the following:

[0235] The first access network device sends first auxiliary information to the terminal; the first auxiliary information is used by the terminal to suspend data transmission with the first access network device;

[0236] The first access network device sends the cell coverage stop time information corresponding to the first access network device to the terminal; the cell coverage stop time information is used by the terminal to suspend data transmission with the first access network device.

[0237] Optionally, the first auxiliary information includes at least one of the following:

[0238] First indication information; the first indication information is used to instruct the terminal to suspend data transmission with the first access network device;

[0239] Second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate that the service link is unavailable;

[0240] Start time information of suspended data transmission;

[0241] Information about the duration of suspended data transmission;

[0242] End time information of suspended data transmission;

[0243] The time when the service link will be available next time.

[0244] Optionally, the first access network device sends the first auxiliary information to the terminal, including:

[0245] The first access network device sends the first auxiliary information to the terminal through dedicated signaling.

[0246] Optionally, the first access network device sends, to the terminal, cell coverage stop time information corresponding to the first access network device, including:

[0247] The first access network device sends the cell coverage stop time information to the terminal through a system message.

[0248] Optionally, resuming data transmission with the terminal includes resuming at least one of the following:

[0249] Sending downlink non-access stratum NAS messages to the terminal;

[0250] Send downlink service data to the terminal;

[0251] Sending feedback information related to uplink service data to the terminal;

[0252] Receive uplink NAS messages sent by the terminal;

[0253] Receive uplink service data sent by the terminal;

[0254] Receive feedback information related to downlink service data sent by the terminal.

[0255] Optionally, the connection management method further includes at least one of the following:

[0256] The first access network device sends corresponding ephemeris information to the terminal; the ephemeris information is used by the terminal to obtain service link available time information;

[0257] The first access network device sends service link available time information to the terminal;

[0258] The second access network device provides the terminal with arrival time information of the cell covered by the first access network device, and the arrival time information of the cell covered by the first access network device is used by the terminal to obtain service link available time information.

[0259] Optionally, the service link available time information includes any one of the following:

[0260] First time information; the first time information is the time when the service link between the terminal and the first access network device is available;

[0261] First start time information; the first start time information is used to indicate the start time when the service link is unavailable;

[0262] First end time information, where the first end time information is used to indicate an end time when the service link becomes unavailable;

[0263] First duration information: The first duration information is used to indicate the duration of time during which the service link is unavailable.

[0264] Optionally, the first access network device provides the terminal with service link available time information before the service link becomes unavailable.

[0265] Optionally, the first access network device provides the service link available time information to the terminal through a system message or a dedicated message.

[0266] Optionally, when the first access network device resumes data transmission with the terminal, at least one of the following items is further included:

[0267] The first access network device performs uplink synchronization with the terminal;

[0268] The first access network device performs downlink synchronization with the terminal.

[0269] Optionally, the connection management method further includes at least one of the following:

[0270] The first access network device sends auxiliary information to the terminal; the auxiliary information is used by the terminal to release the air interface connection with the first access network device;

[0271] The first access network device sends corresponding cell coverage stop time information to the terminal; the cell coverage stop time information is used by the terminal to release the air interface connection with the first access network device.

[0272] Optionally, the auxiliary information includes information about a reason for releasing the air interface connection; the reason information includes at least one of the following:

[0273] The service link is disconnected;

[0274] The service link is unavailable;

[0275] Store-and-forward communication mode.

[0276] Optionally, the connection management method further includes at least one of the following:

[0277] The first access network device provides the terminal with service link availability time information; the service link availability time information is used by the terminal to re-establish an air interface connection with the terminal;

[0278] The first access network device sends a paging message to the terminal; the paging message is used by the terminal to re-establish an air interface connection with the first access network device;

[0279] The first access network device sends a short message to the terminal; the short message is used by the terminal to re-establish an air interface connection with the first access network device.

[0280] Optionally, the first access network device provides the terminal with service link available time information, including at least one of the following:

[0281] The first access network device sends corresponding ephemeris information to the terminal; the ephemeris information is used by the terminal to obtain service link available time information;

[0282] The first access network device sends service link available time information to the terminal;

[0283] The second access network device provides the terminal with arrival time information of the cell covered by the first access network device; the arrival time information of the cell covered by the first access network device is used by the terminal to obtain service link available time information.

[0284] Optionally, the paging message includes paging reason information; the paging reason information includes at least one of the following: a store-and-forward communication mode and downlink data arrival.

[0285] Optionally, the paging message includes a paging reason indication field; the reason indication field includes paging reason information.

[0286] Optionally, the short message includes paging reason information; the paging reason information includes at least one of the following: a store-and-forward communication mode and downlink data arrival.

[0287] Optionally, the connection management method further includes:

[0288] The first access network device receives an air interface connection establishment reason indicated by the terminal; the air interface connection establishment reason includes: a store-and-forward communication mode.

[0289] Optionally, the air interface connection establishment reason indicated by the terminal received by the first access network device includes any one of the following:

[0290] The first access network device receives the air interface connection establishment reason sent by the terminal;

[0291] The first access network device receives an air interface connection establishment request message sent by the terminal; the air interface connection establishment request message is used to indicate a reason for establishing the air interface connection.

[0292] Optionally, the second access network device includes any one of the following:

[0293] Satellite base station;

[0294] Distributed unit DU of the satellite base station;

[0295] Base station's onboard distributed unit DU;

[0296] Ground base station.

[0297] The interaction process of the connection management method provided in the embodiment of the present application is shown in Figures 7-11, and is specifically as follows:

[0298] When the service link between the terminal and the first access network device is unavailable, the terminal may maintain an air interface connection with the first access network device, specifically as follows:

[0299] (1) The terminal transmits data with the core network element based on the S&F mechanism. It should be noted that during the data transmission period, the service link will experience the process of service link available, service link unavailable, service link available, etc. multiple times, that is, the status of the service link will change multiple times.

[0300] (2) When a service link is available, the terminal establishes an air interface connection with a first access network device. When the service link is available, the terminal performs data transmission via the air interface connection. The first access network device may be an S&F type base station. Additionally, the first access network device may be an anchor base station or anchor satellite for the terminal. The anchor base station or anchor satellite is a base station or satellite that stores the terminal context.

[0301] It should be noted that the service link being available can be understood as the service link between the terminal and the first onboard base station being connected.

[0302] (3) In the S&F operating mode, when the service link is unavailable, the terminal maintains the logical air interface connection with the first access network device. In the case of the service link being unavailable, the terminal's behavior further includes suspending data transmission with the first access network device.

[0303] It should be noted that the unavailable service link may be understood as the service link between the terminal and the first access network device being disconnected.

[0304] The terminal may suspend data transmission with the first access network device in one or more of the following ways:

[0305] Based on the auxiliary information provided by the first access network device, the auxiliary information may be provided to the terminal by the first access network device through dedicated information.

[0306] Based on the cell coverage stop time information, such as the T-service information field indicated in the system message. Exemplarily, the T-service indicates the time when the cell stops coverage, and the terminal suspends data transmission with the first access network device from the time point indicated by the T-service;

[0307] The auxiliary information includes one or more of the following:

[0308] Indication information for suspending data transmission with the first access network device. Exemplarily, the indication information may be one-bit indication information;

[0309] Time information for suspending data transmission with the first access network device; wherein, the time information may be at least one of the suspension start time, suspension duration, and suspension end time. Exemplarily, the time information may indicate suspension start time information, such as the terminal suspending data transmission with the first access network device from the start time; exemplarily, the time information may also indicate suspension end time information, such as the terminal deems that data transmission needs to be suspended at least before a time point from the suspension end time information; it should be noted that, when the suspension start time is not included, the terminal defaults to suspending air interface transmission from the time the auxiliary information is received from the receiving end.

[0310] Wherein, when the service link is unavailable, the terminal behavior further includes any one of the following:

[0311] Stop residing in a cell covered by a second access network device; the second access network device may be a satellite base station or a ground base station;

[0312] Trying to camp on a cell covered by the second access network device;

[0313] The behavior of stopping staying in the cell covered by the second access network device includes one or more of the following:

[0314] Stop cell search;

[0315] Stop cell residency;

[0316] Stop link detection;

[0317] Suspend AS operation;

[0318] The behavior of attempting to camp on a cell covered by the second access network device includes one or more of the following:

[0319] Suspending AS operations related to the first access network device;

[0320] Perform cell selection reselection;

[0321] Residing in a cell covered by the second access network device;

[0322] receiving a paging message from a cell covered by the second access network device;

[0323] Receive system information, such as SIB6 / 7 / 8, from the cell covered by the second access network device.

[0324] (4) In the S&F operation mode, when the service link becomes available from being unavailable, the terminal resumes data transmission with the first access network device.

[0325] The data transmission includes one or more of the following:

[0326] The terminal receives a downlink NAS message;

[0327] The terminal receives downlink service data;

[0328] The terminal receives feedback information of uplink data;

[0329] Additionally, the data transmission may include one or more of the following:

[0330] The terminal sends an uplink NAS message;

[0331] The terminal sends uplink service data;

[0332] Wherein, when the service link becomes available from being unavailable, the manner in which the terminal behavior resumes data transmission with the first access network device includes one or more of the following:

[0333] The information is restored at the first time, and data transmission with the first access network device is resumed.

[0334] When the terminal resides in the cell covered by the first access network device again, the terminal resumes data transmission with the first access network device.

[0335] The first time information may be time information when the service link changes from unavailable to available.

[0336] The first time information may be obtained in one or more of the following ways:

[0337] Based on the ephemeris information of the first access network device, the terminal obtains the time information of the next available service link of the first access network device based on the ephemeris information of the first access network device, as shown in Figure 7.

[0338] Based on the service link available time information provided by the first access network device; illustratively, before the service link is disconnected, the first access network device provides the terminal with the time information when the next service link will be available; as shown in Figure 8.

[0339] Based on the cell coverage information of the first access network device provided by the second access network device, exemplarily, the cell arrival time information of the first access network device provided by the second access network device; as shown in Figure 9.

[0340] The service link available time information may be any of the following:

[0341] Future time information; such as Universal Time Coordinated (UTC) time or Global Positioning System (GPS) time. For example, the service link availability time information may indicate a future UTC time point. The terminal considers that the service link is available starting at the time point indicated by the future time information.

[0342] Duration information. Exemplarily, the duration information is used to indicate that the service link is available after a period of time indicated by the duration information. Additionally, the first access network device may also provide start time information of when the service link is unavailable. Exemplarily, the terminal considers that the service link is unavailable at the time indicated by the start time information of when the service link is unavailable, and the service link will be available after a period of time indicated by the duration information. Additionally, the terminal may maintain a timer, which starts at the time indicated by the start time information of when the service link is unavailable, and the length of the timer is the duration indicated by the duration information.

[0343] The service link available time information can be obtained in any of the following ways:

[0344] Provided via dedicated message;

[0345] Provided via system messages;

[0346] The manner in which the terminal determines that the terminal is again stationed in a cell covered by the first access network device includes any one of the following:

[0347] Identification information via satellite;

[0348] Through the identification information of the onboard base station;

[0349] In the case where the terminal resumes data transmission with the first access network device, the terminal's actions further include one or more of the following:

[0350] Downlink synchronization with the first access network device;

[0351] Uplink synchronization with the first access network device;

[0352] Wherein, uplink synchronization with the first access network device includes initiating a random access process. Additionally, the terminal reports timing advance information, and the timing advance can be reported through the random access process.

[0353] When the service link between the terminal and the first access network device is unavailable, the terminal may also release the air interface connection with the first access network device, as follows:

[0354] (1) The terminal transmits data with the core network element based on the S&F mechanism. It should be noted that during the data transmission period, the service link will experience the process of service link available, service link unavailable, service link available, etc. multiple times, that is, the status of the service link will change multiple times.

[0355] (2) When the service link is available, the terminal establishes an air interface connection with the first access network device.

[0356] (3) In the S&F operation mode, when the service link is unavailable, the terminal disconnects the air interface connection with the first access network device.

[0357] It should be noted that the unavailable service link may be understood as the service link between the terminal and the first onboard base station being disconnected.

[0358] The terminal may disconnect the air interface from the first access network device in any of the following ways:

[0359] Based on the auxiliary information provided by the first access network device; the auxiliary information is used to instruct the terminal to disconnect the air interface connection. Exemplarily, the auxiliary information can be a Radio Resource Control (RRC) release message. In addition, the RRC release message also carries release reason information, and the release reason can be service link disconnection, service link unavailable, S&F, etc.

[0360] Based on the cell coverage stop time information, such as the time service T-service information field indicated in the system message. For example, the T-service indicates the time when the cell stops coverage, and the terminal autonomously disconnects the air interface connection at or before the time indicated by the T-service;

[0361] Wherein, in the case where the service link is unavailable, the behavior of the terminal further includes the terminal saving a terminal context, wherein the terminal context includes at least one of an AS context and a NAS context.

[0362] Wherein, when the service link is unavailable, the terminal behavior further includes attempting to reside in a cell covered by the second access network device.

[0363] The behavior of attempting to camp on a cell covered by the second access network device includes one or more of the following:

[0364] Perform cell selection reselection;

[0365] Residing in a cell covered by the second access network device;

[0366] receiving a paging message from a cell covered by the second access network device;

[0367] Access system information from the cell covered by the second access network device, such as system information block (SIB) 6 / 7 / 8.

[0368] (4) In the S&F operation mode, when the service link becomes available from being unavailable, the terminal re-establishes the air interface connection with the first access network device.

[0369] Wherein, based on the re-established air interface connection, the terminal performs data transmission. The data transmission includes one or more of the following:

[0370] The terminal receives a downlink NAS message;

[0371] The terminal receives downlink service data;

[0372] The terminal receives feedback information of uplink data;

[0373] Additionally, the data transmission may include one or more of the following:

[0374] The terminal sends an uplink NAS message;

[0375] The terminal sends uplink service data;

[0376] Wherein, when the service link becomes available from being unavailable, the manner in which the terminal re-establishes the air interface connection with the first access network device includes one or more of the following:

[0377] The air interface connection with the first access network device is re-established based on the first time information, as shown in FIG10 .

[0378] When the terminal resides in the cell covered by the first access network device again, the terminal re-establishes the air interface connection with the first access network device.

[0379] The air interface connection with the first access network device is re-established based on network paging, as shown in FIG11 .

[0380] The network paging may also carry paging reason information. The paging reason information may indicate the following information:

[0381] S&F operation mode;

[0382] Terminal downlink data arrives; wherein, the terminal downlink data may include at least one of a downlink (Down Link, DL) NAS message and DL service data.

[0383] The paging reason information may be indicated in any of the following ways:

[0384] Paging reason indication field; illustratively, the paging reason indication field can be carried by a paging message.

[0385] Short message; illustratively, one bit is used in the short message to indicate the paging reason.

[0386] The terminal re-establishing the air interface connection with the first access network device may be done in any of the following ways:

[0387] The NAS layer triggers the AS layer to re-establish the air interface connection; illustratively, when the service link is restored, the NAS layer of the terminal triggers the AS of the terminal to re-establish the air interface connection.

[0388] The AS triggers the re-establishment of the air interface connection.

[0389] Additionally, when the terminal reestablishes the air interface connection with the first access network device, the behavior of the terminal further includes discarding the stored AS context;

[0390] In the process of re-establishing the air interface connection, the terminal indicates the air interface connection establishment reason to the first access network device. The connection establishment reason is used to indicate that the terminal accesses the network based on S&F, etc. The establishment reason can be provided in any of the following ways:

[0391] Newly introduced connection establishment cause values, for example, when introducing new connection establishment cause indications, such as S&F;

[0392] Through the newly introduced connection establishment request message. For example, through the newly introduced connection establishment request message, it is used to inform the network terminal to access the network based on the S&F mode.

[0393] Specifically, in S&F mode, when the service link is disconnected, the logical air interface connection can be retained and air interface transmission can be suspended. When the service link is restored, air interface transmission can be resumed. Alternatively, in S&F mode, when the service link is disconnected, the air interface connection can be disconnected but the UE context can be retained. When the service link is restored, air interface transmission can be re-established. This ensures that the terminal can complete data exchange with the core network in the S&F system, improving system management efficiency.

[0394] FIG12 is a schematic diagram of a connection management device according to an embodiment of the present application, including:

[0395] The first execution module 1200 is configured to perform any one of the following connection management operations when the service link between the first access network device and the first access network device is unavailable:

[0396] Maintaining an air interface connection with the first access network device;

[0397] Suspend the air interface connection;

[0398] Releasing the air interface connection with the first access network device;

[0399] If the service link is available, the terminal performs at least one of the following connection management operations:

[0400] Resuming data transmission with the first access network device;

[0401] Restore air interface connection;

[0402] Re-establish the air interface connection with the first access network device.

[0403] Optionally, the first execution module 1200 is specifically configured to suspend the air interface connection of the terminal when the access layer AS is securely activated;

[0404] When the access layer AS is securely activated, the terminal restores the air interface connection.

[0405] Optionally, the service link and the feeder link are not available at the same time; the feeder link is a feeder link between the first access network device and the core network device corresponding to the terminal.

[0406] Optionally, the terminal includes any one or more of the following:

[0407] Terminals with store-and-forward capabilities;

[0408] A terminal that transmits data via store-and-forward operation.

[0409] Optionally, the first access network device includes any one of the following:

[0410] Satellite base station;

[0411] Distributed unit DU of the satellite base station;

[0412] The base station's onboard distributed unit DU.

[0413] Optionally, the first execution module 1200 is further configured to suspend data transmission with the first access network device while maintaining the air interface connection with the first access network device;

[0414] or,

[0415] When the air interface connection with the first access network device is released, the context information of the terminal is saved.

[0416] Optionally, the first execution module 1200 is specifically configured to suspend data transmission with the first access network device according to the first auxiliary information sent by the first access network device;

[0417] Data transmission with the first access network device is suspended according to the cell coverage stop time information corresponding to the first access network device.

[0418] Optionally, the first auxiliary information includes at least one of the following:

[0419] First indication information; the first indication information is used to instruct the terminal to suspend data transmission with the first access network device;

[0420] Second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate that the service link is unavailable;

[0421] Start time information of suspended data transmission;

[0422] Information about the duration of suspended data transmission;

[0423] End time information of suspended data transmission;

[0424] The time when the service link will be available next time.

[0425] Optionally, the first execution module 1200 is specifically configured to suspend data transmission with the first access network device according to first auxiliary information sent by the first access network device through dedicated signaling.

[0426] Optionally, the first execution module 1200 is specifically configured to suspend data transmission with the first access network device according to the cell coverage stop time information sent by the first access network device through a system message.

[0427] Optionally, the first execution module 1200 is further configured to, when the service link is unavailable,

[0428] Try to camp on a cell covered by the second access network device; or,

[0429] Stop trying to camp on the cell covered by the second access network device.

[0430] Optionally, the first execution module 1200 is specifically configured to perform at least one of the following:

[0431] Stop searching for cells covered by the second access network device;

[0432] Stop staying in the cell covered by the second access network device;

[0433] Stop link monitoring with the second access network device;

[0434] Suspend access layer AS operations related to the first access network device.

[0435] Optionally, the first execution module 1200 is specifically configured to perform at least one of the following:

[0436] Suspending AS operations related to the first access network device;

[0437] performing cell selection and / or cell reselection;

[0438] Residing in a cell covered by the second access network device;

[0439] receiving a paging message sent by the second access network device;

[0440] Receive a system message sent by the second access network device.

[0441] Optionally, the first execution module 1200 is specifically configured to perform at least one of the following:

[0442] Obtaining service link available time information, and resuming data transmission with the first access network device according to the service link available time information;

[0443] When the user camps on the cell covered by the first access network device again, data transmission with the first access network device is resumed.

[0444] Optionally, the first execution module 1200 is specifically configured to perform at least one of the following:

[0445] Receiving a downlink non-access stratum NAS message sent by the first access network device;

[0446] receiving downlink service data sent by the first access network device;

[0447] receiving feedback information related to uplink service data sent by the first access network device;

[0448] Sending an uplink NAS message to the first access network device;

[0449] Sending uplink service data to the first access network device;

[0450] Send feedback information related to downlink service data to the first access network device.

[0451] Optionally, the first execution module 1200 is specifically configured to perform at least one of the following:

[0452] Acquiring service link available time information based on the ephemeris information corresponding to the first access network device;

[0453] Acquire service link available time information based on the received service link available time information sent by the first access network device;

[0454] The service link available time information is acquired according to the arrival time information of the cell covered by the first access network device provided by the second access network device.

[0455] Optionally, the service link available time information includes any one of the following:

[0456] First time information; the first time information is the time when the service link between the terminal and the first access network device is available;

[0457] First start time information; the first start time information is used to indicate the start time when the service link is unavailable;

[0458] First end time information, where the first end time information is used to indicate an end time when the service link becomes unavailable;

[0459] First duration information: The first duration information is used to indicate the duration of time during which the service link is unavailable.

[0460] Optionally, the service link available time information is provided to the terminal by the first access network device before the service link becomes unavailable.

[0461] Optionally, the first execution module 1200 is further used to set a timer; the start time of the timer corresponds to the start time of the service link being unavailable; the time length of the timer is the same as the time length of the service link being unavailable.

[0462] Optionally, the first execution module 1200 is specifically configured to, when the timer expires, deem that the service link between the terminal and the first access network device is available.

[0463] Optionally, the service link availability time information may be carried via a system message or a dedicated message.

[0464] Optionally, the first execution module 1200 is specifically configured to obtain information based on the satellite identification information that the first access network device is again resident;

[0465] Based on the identification information of the access network device, it is known that the first access network device is resident again.

[0466] Optionally, the first execution module 1200 is further configured to perform at least one of the following:

[0467] Performing uplink synchronization with the first access network device;

[0468] Perform downlink synchronization with the first access network device.

[0469] Optionally, the first execution module 1200 is specifically configured to perform at least one of the following:

[0470] Releasing the air interface connection with the first access network device according to the auxiliary information sent by the first access network device;

[0471] Release the air interface connection with the first access network device according to the cell coverage stop time information corresponding to the first access network device.

[0472] Optionally, the auxiliary information includes information about a reason for releasing the air interface connection; the reason information includes at least one of the following:

[0473] The service link is disconnected;

[0474] The service link is unavailable;

[0475] Store-and-forward communication mode.

[0476] Optionally, the context information includes at least one of the following:

[0477] AS context information of the terminal;

[0478] NAS context information of the terminal.

[0479] Optionally, the first execution module 1200 is specifically configured to perform at least one of the following:

[0480] Obtaining service link available time information, and re-establishing an air interface connection with the first access network device according to the service link available time information;

[0481] When residing on the first access network device again, re-establishing the air interface connection with the first access network device;

[0482] Re-establishing an air interface connection with the first access network device according to the paging message sent by the first access network device;

[0483] Re-establish an air interface connection with the first access network device according to the short message sent by the first access network device.

[0484] Optionally, the first execution module 1200 is specifically configured to perform at least one of the following:

[0485] Acquiring service link available time information based on the ephemeris information corresponding to the first access network device;

[0486] Acquire service link available time information based on the received service link available time information sent by the first access network device;

[0487] The service link available time information is acquired according to the arrival time information of the cell covered by the first access network device provided by the second access network device.

[0488] Optionally, the paging message includes paging reason information; the paging reason information includes at least one of the following: a store-and-forward communication mode and downlink data arrival.

[0489] Optionally, the paging message includes a paging reason indication field; the reason indication field includes paging reason information.

[0490] Optionally, the short message includes paging reason information; the paging reason information includes at least one of the following: a store-and-forward communication mode and downlink data arrival.

[0491] Optionally, the NAS of the terminal triggers the AS of the terminal to re-establish an air interface connection with the first access network device;

[0492] The AS of the terminal triggers re-establishment of the air interface connection with the first access network device.

[0493] Optionally, the first execution module 1200 is further configured to indicate a reason for establishing the air interface connection to the first access network device; the reason for establishing the air interface connection includes: a store-and-forward communication mode.

[0494] Optionally, the first execution module 1200 is further configured to perform at least one of the following:

[0495] Sending an air interface connection establishment reason to the first access network device;

[0496] An air interface connection establishment request message is sent to the first access network device; the air interface connection establishment request message is used to indicate a reason for establishing the air interface connection.

[0497] Optionally, the second access network device includes any one of the following:

[0498] Satellite base station;

[0499] Distributed unit DU of the satellite base station;

[0500] Base station's onboard distributed unit DU;

[0501] Ground base station.

[0502] FIG13 is a second structural diagram of a connection management device provided in an embodiment of the present application, including:

[0503] The second execution module 1300 is configured to perform any one of the following connection management operations when the service link between the terminal and the service link is unavailable:

[0504] Maintain air interface connection with the terminal;

[0505] Suspend the air interface connection;

[0506] Release the air interface connection with the terminal;

[0507] When the service link is available, the first access network device performs at least one of the following connection management operations:

[0508] Resume data transmission with the terminal;

[0509] Restore air interface connection;

[0510] Re-establish the air interface connection with the terminal.

[0511] Optionally, the terminal includes any one or more of the following:

[0512] Terminals with store-and-forward capabilities;

[0513] A terminal that transmits data via store-and-forward operation.

[0514] Optionally, the first access network device includes any one of the following:

[0515] Satellite base station;

[0516] Distributed unit DU of the satellite base station;

[0517] The base station's onboard distributed unit DU.

[0518] Optionally, the second execution module 1300 is further configured to suspend data transmission with the terminal when the first access network device maintains an air interface connection with the terminal;

[0519] or,

[0520] When the first access network device releases the air interface connection with the terminal, the context information is saved.

[0521] Optionally, the second execution module 1300 is further configured to perform at least one of the following:

[0522] Sending first auxiliary information to the terminal; the first auxiliary information is used by the terminal to suspend data transmission with the first access network device;

[0523] The cell coverage stop time information corresponding to the first access network device is sent to the terminal; the cell coverage stop time information is used by the terminal to suspend data transmission with the first access network device.

[0524] Optionally, the first auxiliary information includes at least one of the following:

[0525] First indication information; the first indication information is used to instruct the terminal to suspend data transmission with the first access network device;

[0526] Second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate that the service link is unavailable;

[0527] Start time information of suspended data transmission;

[0528] Information about the duration of suspended data transmission;

[0529] End time information of suspended data transmission;

[0530] The time when the service link will be available next time.

[0531] Optionally, the second execution module 1300 is specifically configured to send the first auxiliary information to the terminal through dedicated signaling.

[0532] Optionally, the second execution module 1300 is specifically configured to send cell coverage stop time information to the terminal via a system message.

[0533] Optionally, the second execution module 1300 is specifically configured to perform at least one of the following:

[0534] Sending downlink non-access stratum NAS messages to the terminal;

[0535] Send downlink service data to the terminal;

[0536] Sending feedback information related to uplink service data to the terminal;

[0537] Receive uplink NAS messages sent by the terminal;

[0538] Receive uplink service data sent by the terminal;

[0539] Receive feedback information related to downlink service data sent by the terminal.

[0540] Optionally, the second execution module 1300 is specifically configured to perform at least one of the following:

[0541] Send the corresponding ephemeris information to the terminal; the ephemeris information is used by the terminal to obtain the service link available time information;

[0542] Sending service link availability time information to the terminal;

[0543] The arrival time information of the cell covered by the first access network device is provided to the terminal, and the arrival time information of the cell covered by the first access network device is used by the terminal to obtain the service link available time information.

[0544] Optionally, the service link available time information includes any one of the following:

[0545] First time information; the first time information is the time when the service link between the terminal and the first access network device is available;

[0546] First start time information; the first start time information is used to indicate the start time when the service link is unavailable;

[0547] First end time information, where the first end time information is used to indicate an end time when the service link becomes unavailable;

[0548] First duration information: The first duration information is used to indicate the duration of time during which the service link is unavailable.

[0549] Optionally, the second execution module 1300 is specifically configured to provide the terminal with service link available time information before the service link becomes unavailable.

[0550] Optionally, the second execution module 1300 is specifically configured to provide the service link available time information to the terminal via a system message or a dedicated message.

[0551] Optionally, the second execution module 1300 is further configured to perform at least one of the following:

[0552] Uplink synchronization with the terminal;

[0553] Perform downlink synchronization with the terminal.

[0554] Optionally, the second execution module 1300 is further configured to perform at least one of the following:

[0555] Sending auxiliary information to the terminal; the auxiliary information is used by the terminal to release the air interface connection with the first access network device;

[0556] The corresponding cell coverage stop time information is sent to the terminal; the cell coverage stop time information is used by the terminal to release the air interface connection with the first access network device.

[0557] Optionally, the auxiliary information includes information about a reason for releasing the air interface connection; the reason information includes at least one of the following:

[0558] The service link is disconnected;

[0559] The service link is unavailable;

[0560] Store-and-forward communication mode.

[0561] Optionally, the second execution module 1300 is further configured to perform at least one of the following:

[0562] Provide the terminal with service link availability time information; the service link availability time information is used by the terminal to re-establish the air interface connection with the terminal;

[0563] Sending a paging message to the terminal; the paging message is used by the terminal to re-establish an air interface connection with the first access network device;

[0564] Send a short message to the terminal; the short message is used for the terminal to re-establish the air interface connection with the first access network device.

[0565] Optionally, the second execution module 1300 is further configured to perform at least one of the following:

[0566] Send the corresponding ephemeris information to the terminal; the ephemeris information is used by the terminal to obtain the service link available time information;

[0567] Sending service link availability time information to the terminal;

[0568] The arrival time information of the cell covered by the first access network device is provided to the terminal; the arrival time information of the cell covered by the first access network device is used by the terminal to obtain the service link available time information.

[0569] Optionally, the paging message includes paging reason information; the paging reason information includes at least one of the following: a store-and-forward communication mode and downlink data arrival.

[0570] Optionally, the paging message includes a paging reason indication field; the reason indication field includes paging reason information.

[0571] Optionally, the short message includes paging reason information; the paging reason information includes at least one of the following: a store-and-forward communication mode and downlink data arrival.

[0572] Optionally, the second execution module 1300 is further configured to receive an air interface connection establishment reason indicated by the terminal; the air interface connection establishment reason includes: a store-and-forward communication mode.

[0573] Optionally, the second execution module 1300 is specifically configured to perform at least one of the following:

[0574] The reason for establishing the air interface connection sent by the receiving terminal;

[0575] The air interface connection establishment request message sent by the receiving terminal is used to indicate the reason for establishing the air interface connection.

[0576] Optionally, the second access network device includes any one of the following:

[0577] Satellite base station;

[0578] Distributed unit DU of the satellite base station;

[0579] Base station's onboard distributed unit DU;

[0580] Ground base station.

[0581] The virtual device in the embodiments of the present application can be an electronic device, such as an electronic device with an operating system, or a component in an electronic device, such as an integrated circuit or chip. The electronic device can be a terminal or other device other than a terminal. For example, the terminal can include but is not limited to the types of terminal 11 listed above, and other devices can be servers, network attached storage (NAS), etc., which are not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0582] The virtual device provided in the embodiment of the present application can implement the various processes implemented in the method embodiments of Figures 5 to 11 and achieve the same technical effects. To avoid repetition, they will not be described here.

[0583] As shown in Figure 14, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device 1400, including a processor 1401 and a memory 1402. The memory 1402 stores a program or instruction that can be run on the processor 1401. For example, when the communication device 1400 is a terminal, the program or instruction, when executed by the processor 1401, implements the various steps of the above-mentioned connection management method embodiment and can achieve the same technical effect. When the communication device 1400 is a network-side device, the program or instruction, when executed by the processor 1401, implements the various steps of the above-mentioned connection management method embodiment and can achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

[0584] The present application also provides a terminal including a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is coupled to the processor, and the processor is configured to execute a program or instruction to implement the steps of the method embodiment shown in FIG5 . This terminal embodiment corresponds to the aforementioned terminal-side method embodiment, and each implementation process and implementation method of the aforementioned method embodiment is applicable to this terminal embodiment and can achieve the same technical effects. Specifically, FIG15 is a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a terminal implementing an embodiment of the present application.

[0585] The terminal 1500 includes but is not limited to: a radio frequency unit 1501, a network module 1502, an audio output unit 1503, an input unit 1504, a sensor 1505, a display unit 1506, a user input unit 1507, an interface unit 1508, a memory 1509 and at least some of the components of the processor 1510.

[0586] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the terminal 1500 may also include a power supply (such as a battery) to power various components. The power supply may be logically connected to the processor 1510 via a power management system, thereby enabling the power management system to manage charging, discharging, and power consumption. The terminal structure shown in FIG15 does not limit the terminal. The terminal may include more or fewer components than shown, or may combine certain components, or have different component arrangements, which will not be described in detail here.

[0587] It should be understood that in an embodiment of the present application, the input unit 1504 may include a graphics processing unit (GPU) 15041 and a microphone 15042, and the graphics processing unit 15041 processes the image data of a static picture or video obtained by an image capture device (such as a camera) in a video capture mode or an image capture mode. The display unit 1506 may include a display panel 15061, and the display panel 15061 may be configured in the form of a liquid crystal display, an organic light emitting diode, etc. The user input unit 1507 includes a touch panel 15071 and at least one of other input devices 15072. The touch panel 15071 is also called a touch screen. The touch panel 15071 may include two parts: a touch detection device and a touch controller. Other input devices 15072 may include, but are not limited to, a physical keyboard, function keys (such as volume control keys, switch keys, etc.), a trackball, a mouse, and a joystick, which will not be repeated here.

[0588] In the embodiment of the present application, after receiving downlink data from a network-side device, the radio frequency unit 1501 may transmit the data to the processor 1510 for processing. Furthermore, the radio frequency unit 1501 may send uplink data to the network-side device. Typically, the radio frequency unit 1501 includes, but is not limited to, an antenna, an amplifier, a transceiver, a coupler, a low-noise amplifier, a duplexer, and the like.

[0589] The memory 1509 can be used to store software programs or instructions and various data. The memory 1509 may mainly include a first storage area for storing programs or instructions and a second storage area for storing data, wherein the first storage area may store an operating system, applications or instructions required for at least one function (such as a sound playback function, an image playback function, etc.). In addition, the memory 1509 may include a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory. Among them, 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), a static random access memory (SRAM), a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), a synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), a double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDRSDRAM), an enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), a synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and a direct memory bus random access memory (DRRAM). The memory x09 in the embodiments of the present application includes but is not limited to these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0590] Processor 1510 may include one or more processing units. Optionally, processor 1510 integrates an application processor and a modem processor. The application processor primarily handles operations related to the operating system, user interface, and application programs, while the modem processor primarily processes wireless communication signals, such as a baseband processor. It is understood that the modem processor may not be integrated into processor 1510.

[0591] The present application also provides a network-side device, including a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is coupled to the processor, and the processor is configured to execute a program or instruction to implement the steps of the method embodiment shown in FIG6 . This network-side device embodiment corresponds to the aforementioned network-side device method embodiment, and each implementation process and implementation method of the aforementioned method embodiment are applicable to this network-side device embodiment and can achieve the same technical effects.

[0592] Specifically, embodiments of the present application also provide an access network device. As shown in Figure 16, access network device 1600 includes an antenna 161, a radio frequency device 162, a baseband device 163, a processor 164, and a memory 165. Antenna 161 is connected to radio frequency device 162. In the uplink direction, radio frequency device 162 receives information via antenna 161 and sends the received information to baseband device 163 for processing. In the downlink direction, baseband device 163 processes the information to be transmitted and sends it to radio frequency device 162. Radio frequency device 162 processes the received information and then sends it through antenna 161.

[0593] The method executed by the network-side device in the above embodiment may be implemented in the baseband device 163 , which includes a baseband processor.

[0594] The baseband device 163 may include, for example, at least one baseband board, on which multiple chips are arranged, as shown in Figure 16, one of the chips is, for example, a baseband processor, which is connected to the memory 165 through a bus interface to call the program in the memory 165 and execute the network device operations shown in the above method embodiment.

[0595] The network side device may further include a network interface 166 , which is, for example, a Common Public Radio Interface (CPRI).

[0596] Specifically, the network side device 1600 of the embodiment of the present application also includes: instructions or programs stored in the memory 165 and executable on the processor 164. The processor 164 calls the instructions or programs in the memory 165 to execute the method of each module execution and achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be elaborated here.

[0597] An embodiment of the present application also provides a readable storage medium, on which a program or instruction is stored. When the program or instruction is executed by a processor, the various processes of the above-mentioned connection management method embodiment are implemented and the same technical effect can be achieved. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

[0598] The processor is the processor in the terminal described in the above embodiment. The readable storage medium includes a computer-readable storage medium, such as a computer read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk. In some examples, the readable storage medium may be a non-transitory readable storage medium.

[0599] An embodiment of the present application further provides a chip, which includes a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is coupled to the processor, and the processor is used to run programs or instructions to implement the various processes of the above-mentioned connection management method embodiment and achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

[0600] It should be understood that the chip mentioned in the embodiments of the present application can also be called a system-level chip, a system chip, a chip system or a system-on-chip chip, etc.

[0601] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program / program product, which is stored in a storage medium and is executed by at least one processor to implement the various processes of the above-mentioned connection management method embodiment and can achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

[0602] An embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system, including: a terminal and an access network device, wherein the terminal can be used to execute the steps of the connection management method described above, and the access network device can be used to execute the steps of the connection management method described above.

[0603] It should be noted that, in this article, the terms "comprise", "include" or any other variants thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device comprising a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. In the absence of further restrictions, an element defined by the sentence "comprises a ..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or device comprising the element. In addition, it should be pointed out that the scope of the methods and devices in the embodiments of the present application is not limited to performing functions in the order shown or discussed, and may also include performing functions in a substantially simultaneous manner or in the opposite order according to the functions involved. For example, the described method may be performed in an order different from that described, and various steps may also be added, omitted or combined. In addition, the features described with reference to certain examples may be combined in other examples.

[0604] Through the description of the above embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the above-mentioned embodiment methods can be implemented by means of a computer software product plus a necessary general-purpose hardware platform, or of course, by hardware. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium (such as ROM, RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk, etc.) and includes a number of instructions for enabling a terminal or network-side device to execute the methods described in each embodiment of the present application.

[0605] The embodiments of the present application are described above in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, but the present application is not limited to the above-mentioned specific implementation methods. The above-mentioned specific implementation methods are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Under the guidance of this application, ordinary technicians in this field can also make many forms of implementation methods without departing from the purpose of this application and the scope of protection of the claims. These implementation methods are all within the protection of this application.

Claims

1. A connection management method, wherein, Including: When the service link between the terminal and the first access network device is unavailable, the terminal performs any one of the following connection management operations: Maintain the radio link connection with the first access network device; Suspend the radio link connection; Release the radio link connection with the first access network device; When the service link is available, the terminal performs at least one of the following connection management operations: Resume data transmission with the first access network device; Resume the radio link connection; Re - establish the radio link connection with the first access network device.

2. The connection management method according to claim 1, wherein, The suspension of the radio link connection includes: The terminal suspends the radio link connection when the access stratum (AS) security is activated; The resume of the radio link connection includes: The terminal resumes the radio link connection when the access stratum (AS) security is activated.

3. The connection management method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein The service link and the feeder link are not available simultaneously; the feeder link is the feeder link between the first access network device and the core network device corresponding to the terminal.

4. The connection management method according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein, The terminal includes any one or more of the following: A terminal with store - and - forward capabilities; A terminal that transmits data through store - and - forward operations.

5. The connection management method according to any one of claims 1-4, wherein, The first access network device includes any one of the following: An on - satellite base station; The distributed unit (DU) of the on - satellite base station; The on - satellite distributed unit (DU) of the base station.

6. The connection management method according to any one of claims 1-5, wherein, The method further includes: When the terminal maintains the radio link connection with the first access network device, the terminal suspends data transmission with the first access network device; Or, When the terminal releases the radio link connection with the first access network device, the terminal saves the context information of the terminal.

7. The connection management method according to claim 6, wherein, The suspension of data transmission with the first access network device includes at least one of the following: The terminal suspends data transmission with the first access network device according to the first auxiliary information sent by the first access network device; The terminal suspends data transmission with the first access network device according to the cell coverage stop time information corresponding to the first access network device.

8. The connection management method according to claim 7, wherein, The first auxiliary information includes at least one of the following: The first indication information; the first indication information is used to indicate that the terminal suspends data transmission with the first access network device; The second indication information, the second indication information is used to indicate that the service link is unavailable; The start time information of suspending data transmission; The duration information of suspending data transmission; The end time information of suspending data transmission; The time information of the next availability of the service link.

9. The connection management method according to claim 7 or 8, wherein, The terminal suspends data transmission with the first access network device according to the first auxiliary information sent by the first access network device, including: The terminal suspends data transmission with the first access network device according to the first auxiliary information sent by the first access network device through dedicated signaling.

10. The connection management method according to any one of claims 7-9, wherein, The terminal suspends data transmission with the first access network device according to the cell coverage stop time information corresponding to the first access network device, including: The terminal suspends data transmission with the first access network device according to the cell coverage stop time information sent by the first access network device through system messages.

11. The connection management method according to any one of claims 1-10, wherein, When the service link is unavailable, the method further includes any one of the following: The terminal attempts to camp on a cell covered by a second access network device; The terminal stops attempting to camp on a cell covered by a second access network device.

12. The connection management method according to claim 11, wherein, The terminal stops attempting to camp on a cell covered by a second access network device, including at least one of the following: The terminal stops searching for a cell covered by the second access network device; The terminal stops camping on a cell covered by the second access network device; The terminal stops link monitoring with the second access network device; The terminal suspends access stratum (AS) operations related to the first access network device.

13. The connection management method according to claim 11 or 12, wherein, The terminal attempts to camp on a cell covered by a second access network device, including at least one of the following: The terminal suspends AS operations related to the first access network device; The terminal performs cell selection and / or cell reselection; The terminal camps on a cell covered by the second access network device; The terminal receives a paging message sent by the second access network device; The terminal receives system information sent by the second access network device.

14. The connection management method according to any one of claims 1-13, wherein, The resuming data transmission with the first access network device includes at least one of the following: The terminal obtains service link available time information and resumes data transmission with the first access network device according to the service link available time information; The terminal resumes data transmission with the first access network device when camping again on a cell covered by the first access network device.

15. The connection management method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein, The resuming data transmission with the first access network device includes resuming at least one of the following: Receiving a downlink non-access stratum (NAS) message sent by the first access network device; Receiving downlink service data sent by the first access network device; Receiving feedback information related to uplink service data sent by the first access network device; Sending an uplink NAS message to the first access network device; Sending uplink service data to the first access network device; Sending feedback information related to downlink service data to the first access network device.

16. The connection management method according to claim 14 or 15, wherein, The terminal obtains service link available time information, including at least one of the following: The terminal obtains the service link available time information based on the ephemeris information corresponding to the first access network device; The terminal obtains the service link available time information based on the service link available time information received from the first access network device; The terminal obtains the service link available time information according to the arrival time information of the cell covered by the first access network device provided by the second access network device.

17. The connection management method according to any one of claims 14-16, wherein, The service link available time information includes any one of the following: First time information; the first time information is the time when the service link between the terminal and the first access network device is available; First start time information; the first start time information is used to indicate the start time when the service link is unavailable; First end time information, the first end time information is used to indicate the end time when the service link is unavailable; First duration information; The first duration information is used to indicate the duration when the service link is unavailable.

18. The connection management method according to any one of claims 14-17, wherein, The service link available time information is provided by the first access network device to the terminal before the service link becomes unavailable.

19. The connection management method according to claim 17, wherein, The method further includes: The terminal sets a timer; the start time of the timer corresponds to the start time when the service link is unavailable; the time length of the timer is the same as the duration when the service link is unavailable.

20. The connection management method according to claim 19, wherein, When the timer times out, the terminal considers that the service link between the terminal and the first access network device is available.

21. The connection management method according to any one of claims 14-20, wherein, The service link available time information is carried by a system message or a dedicated message.

22. The connection management method according to any one of claims 14-21, wherein, The method further includes at least one of the following: The terminal learns that it re-resides in the first access network device based on the identification information of the satellite. The terminal learns that it re-resides in the first access network device based on the identification information of the access network device.

23. The connection management method according to any one of claims 1-22, wherein, When the terminal resumes data transmission with the first access network device, it further includes at least one of the following: The terminal performs uplink synchronization with the first access network device. The terminal performs downlink synchronization with the first access network device.

24. The connection management method according to any one of claims 1-23, wherein, Releasing the radio interface connection with the first access network device includes at least one of the following: The terminal releases the radio interface connection with the first access network device according to the auxiliary information sent by the first access network device. The terminal releases the radio interface connection with the first access network device according to the cell coverage stop time information corresponding to the first access network device.

25. The connection management method according to claim 24, wherein, The auxiliary information includes the reason information for releasing the radio interface connection; the reason information includes at least one of the following: Service link disconnection; Service link unavailability; Store-and-forward communication mode.

26. The connection management method according to any one of claims 1-25, wherein, The context information of the terminal includes at least one of the following: AS context information of the terminal; NAS context information of the terminal.

27. The connection management method according to any one of claims 1-26, wherein, Re-establishing the radio interface connection with the first access network device includes at least one of the following: The terminal obtains the service link available time information and re-establishes the radio interface connection with the first access network device according to the service link available time information. When the terminal re-resides in the first access network device, it re-establishes the radio interface connection with the first access network device. The terminal re-establishes the radio interface connection with the first access network device according to the paging message sent by the first access network device. The terminal re-establishes the radio interface connection with the first access network device according to the short message sent by the first access network device.

28. The connection management method according to claim 27, wherein, The terminal obtains the service link available time information, including at least one of the following: The terminal obtains the service link available time information based on the ephemeris information corresponding to the first access network device. The terminal obtains the service link available time information based on the service link available time information sent by the first access network device received. The terminal obtains the service link available time information according to the arrival time information of the cell covered by the first access network device provided by the second access network device.

29. The connection management method according to claim 27 or 28, wherein, The paging message includes paging reason information; the paging reason information includes at least one of the following: store-and-forward communication mode and downlink data arrival.

30. The connection management method according to claim 29, wherein, The paging message includes a paging reason indication field; the reason indication field includes the paging reason information.

31. The connection management method according to any one of claims 27-30, wherein, The short message includes paging cause information; the paging cause information includes at least one of the following: store-and-forward communication mode and downlink data arrival.

32. The connection management method according to any one of claims 1 to 31, wherein, The re - establishment of the radio link with the first access network device includes any one of the following: The NAS of the terminal triggers the AS of the terminal to re - establish the radio link with the first access network device; The AS of the terminal triggers the re - establishment of the radio link with the first access network device.

33. The connection management method according to any one of claims 1-32, wherein, The method further includes: The terminal indicates the radio link establishment reason to the first access network device; the radio link establishment reason includes: store - and - forward communication mode.

34. The connection management method according to claim 33, wherein, The terminal indicates the radio link establishment reason to the first access network device, including any one of the following: The terminal sends the radio link establishment reason to the first access network device; The terminal sends a radio link establishment request message to the first access network device; the radio link establishment request message is used to indicate the radio link establishment reason.

35. The connection management method according to any one of claims 11-13, 16 or 28, wherein, The second access network device includes any one of the following: On - satellite base station; Distributed unit DU of the on - satellite base station; On - satellite distributed unit DU of the base station; Ground base station.

36. A connection management method, wherein, Including: In the case where the service link between the first access network device and the terminal is unavailable, the first access network device performs any one of the following connection management operations: Maintain the radio link with the terminal; Suspend the radio link; Release the radio link with the terminal; In the case where the service link is available, the first access network device performs at least one of the following connection management operations: Resume data transmission with the terminal; Resume the radio link; Re - establish the radio link with the terminal.

37. The connection management method according to claim 36, wherein, The service link and the feeder link are not available simultaneously; the feeder link is the feeder link between the first access network device and the core network device corresponding to the terminal.

38. The connection management method according to claim 36 or 37, wherein, The terminal includes any one or more of the following: A terminal with store - and - forward capabilities; A terminal that transmits data through store - and - forward operations.

39. The connection management method according to any one of claims 36-38, wherein, The first access network device includes any one of the following: On - satellite base station; Distributed unit DU of the on - satellite base station; On - satellite distributed unit DU of the base station.

40. The connection management method according to any one of claims 36-39, wherein, The method further includes: In the case where the first access network device maintains the radio link with the terminal, the first access network device suspends the data transmission with the terminal; Or, In the case where the first access network device releases the radio link with the terminal, the first access network device saves the context information.

41. The connection management method according to any one of claims 36-40, wherein, The method further includes at least one of the following: The first access network device sends first auxiliary information to the terminal; the first auxiliary information is used for the terminal to suspend the data transmission with the first access network device; The first access network device sends the cell coverage stop time information corresponding to the first access network device to the terminal; The cell coverage stop time information is used for the terminal to suspend the data transmission with the first access network device.

42. The connection management method according to claim 41, wherein, The first auxiliary information includes at least one of the following: First indication information; the first indication information is used to indicate that the terminal suspends the data transmission with the first access network device; Second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate that the service link is unavailable; Start time information for suspending data transmission; Duration information for suspending data transmission; End time information for suspending data transmission; Time information for the next availability of the service link.

43. The connection management method according to claim 41 or 42, wherein, The first access network device sends first auxiliary information to the terminal, including: The first access network device sends the first auxiliary information to the terminal through dedicated signaling.

44. The connection management method according to any one of claims 41-43, wherein, The first access network device sends the cell coverage stop time information corresponding to the first access network device to the terminal, including: The first access network device sends the cell coverage stop time information to the terminal through system information.

45. The connection management method according to any one of claims 36-44, wherein, Restoring data transmission with the terminal includes restoring at least one of the following: Sending a downlink non-access stratum (NAS) message to the terminal; Sending downlink service data to the terminal; Sending feedback information related to uplink service data to the terminal; Receiving an uplink NAS message sent by the terminal; Receiving uplink service data sent by the terminal; Receiving feedback information related to downlink service data sent by the terminal.

46. The connection management method according to any one of claims 36-45, wherein, The method further includes at least one of the following: The first access network device sends corresponding ephemeris information to the terminal; the ephemeris information is used for the terminal to obtain service link availability time information; The first access network device sends service link availability time information to the terminal; A second access network device provides arrival time information of the cell covered by the first access network device to the terminal, and the arrival time information of the cell covered by the first access network device is used for the terminal to obtain service link availability time information.

47. The connection management method according to claim 46, wherein, The service link availability time information includes any one of the following: First time information; the first time information is the time when the service link between the terminal and the first access network device is available; First start time information; the first start time information is used to indicate the start time when the service link is unavailable; First end time information, the first end time information is used to indicate the end time when the service link is unavailable; First duration information; The first duration information is used to indicate the duration when the service link is unavailable.

48. The connection management method according to claim 46 or 47, wherein, The first access network device provides the service link availability time information to the terminal before the service link becomes unavailable.

49. The connection management method according to any one of claims 46 - 48, wherein, The first access network device provides the service link availability time information to the terminal through system information or dedicated information.

50. The connection management method according to any one of claims 36-49, wherein, When the first access network device resumes data transmission with the terminal, it further includes at least one of the following: The first access network device performs uplink synchronization with the terminal; The first access network device performs downlink synchronization with the terminal.

51. The connection management method according to any one of claims 46-50, wherein, The method further includes at least one of the following: The first access network device sends auxiliary information to the terminal; the auxiliary information is used for the terminal to release the radio link connection with the first access network device; The first access network device sends the corresponding cell coverage stop time information to the terminal; The cell coverage stop time information is used for the terminal to release the radio link connection with the first access network device.

52. The connection management method according to claim 51, wherein, The auxiliary information includes the cause information of the radio link release; the cause information includes at least one of the following: The service link is disconnected; The service link is unavailable; The store-and-forward communication mode.

53. The connection management method according to any one of claims 36-52, wherein, The method further includes at least one of the following: The first access network device provides the terminal with service link available time information; the service link available time information is used for the terminal to re-establish a radio link with the terminal; The first access network device sends a paging message to the terminal; The paging message is used for the terminal to re-establish a radio link with the first access network device; The first access network device sends a short message to the terminal; the short message is used for the terminal to re-establish a radio link with the first access network device.

54. The connection management method according to claim 53, wherein, The first access network device provides the terminal with service link available time information, including at least one of the following: The first access network device sends the corresponding ephemeris information to the terminal; the ephemeris information is used for the terminal to obtain the service link available time information; The first access network device sends the service link available time information to the terminal; The second access network device provides the terminal with the arrival time information of the cell covered by the first access network device; The arrival time information of the cell covered by the first access network device is used for the terminal to obtain the service link available time information.

55. The connection management method according to claim 53 or 54, wherein, The paging message includes paging cause information; the paging cause information includes at least one of the following: the store-and-forward communication mode and the arrival of downlink data.

56. The connection management method according to claim 55, wherein, The paging message includes a paging cause indication field; the cause indication field includes the paging cause information.

57. The connection management method according to any one of claims 53-56, wherein, The short message includes paging cause information; the paging cause information includes at least one of the following: the store-and-forward communication mode and the arrival of downlink data.

58. The connection management method according to any one of claims 36-57, wherein, The method further includes: The first access network device receives the radio link establishment cause indicated by the terminal; the radio link establishment cause includes: the store-and-forward communication mode.

59. The connection management method according to claim 58, wherein, The first access network device receives the radio link establishment cause indicated by the terminal, including any one of the following: The first access network device receives the radio link establishment cause sent by the terminal; The first access network device receives the radio link establishment request message sent by the terminal; the radio link establishment request message is used to indicate the radio link establishment cause.

60. The connection management method according to claim 46 or 54, wherein, The second access network device includes any one of the following: The on-board base station; The distributed unit DU of the on-board base station; The on-board distributed unit DU of the base station; The ground base station.

61. A connection management apparatus, wherein, Including: The first execution module is used to perform any one of the following connection management operations in the case that the service link between the first access network device is unavailable: Maintain the radio link with the first access network device; Suspend the radio link; Release the radio link with the first access network device; In the case that the service link is available, perform at least one of the following connection management operations: Resume data transmission with the first access network device; Resume the radio link; Re-establish a radio link with the first access network device.

62. A connection management device, wherein, Including: A second execution module, configured to perform any one of the following connection management operations when the service link with the terminal is unavailable: Maintain an air interface connection with the terminal; Suspend the air interface connection; Release the air interface connection with the terminal; When the service link is available, perform at least one of the following connection management operations: Resume data transmission with the terminal; Resume the air interface connection; Re - establish the air interface connection with the terminal.

63. A terminal, wherein, Comprising a processor and a memory, the memory stores programs or instructions that can run on the processor, and when the programs or instructions are executed by the processor, the steps of the connection management method according to any one of claims 1 to 35 are implemented.

64. An access network device, wherein, Comprising a processor and a memory, the memory stores programs or instructions that can run on the processor, and when the programs or instructions are executed by the processor, the steps of the connection management method according to any one of claims 36 to 60 are implemented.

65. A readable storage medium, wherein, Programs or instructions are stored on the readable storage medium, and when the programs or instructions are executed by the processor, the connection management method according to any one of claims 1 to 35 is implemented, or the steps of the connection management method according to any one of claims 36 to 60 are implemented.

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