Wireless communication methods, terminal devices and network devices

Abstract

Provided are wireless communication methods, terminal devices and network devices. A wireless communication method comprises: a first terminal device receiving a first message sent by a first network element, wherein the first message is used for releasing a first PDU session, and the first PDU session is released after a second PDU session is successfully established, or the first message comprises first information, and the first information is used for instructing the first terminal device to cache an uplink data packet, and the second PDU session is established by a second terminal device, and the second terminal device is a multi-access device associated with the first terminal device.

Description

Wireless communication method, terminal device and network device Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and more specifically, to a wireless communication method, terminal equipment, and network equipment. Background Art

[0002] In some communication systems, when a terminal device performs dual registration, the dual-registered terminal device can be considered as a mutually associated multi-access device. In this dual registration mode, how the network device coordinates the communication process between the mutually associated multi-access devices is a problem that needs to be solved.

[0003] Summary of the Invention

[0004] The present application provides a wireless communication method, terminal device, and network device. The following introduces various aspects of the present application.

[0005] In a first aspect, a method for wireless communication is provided, including: a first terminal device receives a first message sent by a first network element, the first message being used to release a first protocol data unit (PDU) session; the first PDU session is released after a second PDU session is successfully established; or, the first message includes first information, the first information being used to instruct the first terminal device to cache uplink data packets; wherein, the second PDU session is established by a second terminal device, and the second terminal device is a multi-access device associated with the first terminal device.

[0006] According to a second aspect, a method for wireless communication is provided, including: a first network element sends a first message to a first terminal device, the first message being used to release a first PDU session; the first PDU session is released after a second PDU session is successfully established; or, the first message includes first information, the first information being used to instruct the first terminal device to cache uplink data packets; wherein, the second PDU session is established by a second terminal device, and the second terminal device is a multi-access device associated with the first terminal device.

[0007] According to a third aspect, a method for wireless communication is provided, including: a second network element receives a second message sent by a first network element, the second message is used to configure context information of a second PDU session, the second message includes a first configuration, the first configuration is used to indicate that a downlink data packet sent to a first IP address is sent through the second PDU session, the first IP address is the IP address of the first terminal device and / or the second terminal device, the second PDU session is established by the second terminal device, and the second terminal device is a multi-access device associated with the first terminal device.

[0008] In a fourth aspect, a terminal device is provided, including: a receiving module for receiving a first message sent by a first network element, the first message being used to release a first PDU session; the first PDU session is released after a second PDU session is successfully established; or, the first message includes first information, the first information being used to instruct the first terminal device to cache uplink data packets; wherein, the second PDU session is established by a second terminal device, and the second terminal device is a multi-access device associated with the first terminal device.

[0009] In a fifth aspect, a network device is provided, which is a first network element, and the network device includes: a first sending module, used to send a first message to a first terminal device, the first message being used to release a first PDU session; the first PDU session is released after a second PDU session is successfully established; or, the first message includes first information, the first information being used to instruct the first terminal device to cache uplink data packets; wherein, the second PDU session is established by a second terminal device, and the second terminal device is a multi-access device associated with the first terminal device.

[0010] In the sixth aspect, a network device is provided, which is a second network element, and the network device includes: a first receiving module, used to receive a second message sent by the first network element, the second message is used to configure the context information of the second PDU session, the second message includes a first configuration, the first configuration is used to indicate that the downlink data packet sent to the first IP address is sent through the second PDU session, the first IP address is the IP address of the first terminal device and / or the second terminal device, the second PDU session is established by the second terminal device, and the second terminal device is a multi-access device associated with the first terminal device.

[0011] In the seventh aspect, a terminal device is provided, comprising a processor, a memory, and a communication interface, wherein the memory is used to store one or more computer programs, and the processor is used to call the computer program in the memory so that the terminal device executes part or all of the steps in the method of the first aspect.

[0012] In the eighth aspect, a network device is provided, comprising a processor, a memory, and a communication interface, wherein the memory is used to store one or more computer programs, and the processor is used to call the computer program in the memory so that the network device executes part or all of the steps in the method of the second aspect or the third aspect.

[0013] In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, which includes the above-mentioned terminal device and / or network device. In another possible design, the system may also include other devices that interact with the terminal device or network device in the solution provided in the embodiment of the present application.

[0014] In a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, and the computer program enables a computer to execute part or all of the steps in the methods of the above aspects.

[0015] In an eleventh aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a computer program product, wherein the computer program product includes a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, wherein the computer program is operable to cause a computer to perform some or all of the steps of the methods described in each of the above aspects. In some implementations, the computer program product may be a software installation package.

[0016] In the twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip, which includes a memory and a processor. The processor can call and run a computer program from the memory to implement some or all of the steps described in the methods of the above aspects.

[0017] In an embodiment of the present application, the network device can release the PDU session of the first terminal device after the PDU session of the second terminal device is successfully established, or, when releasing the PDU session of the first terminal device, cache the data packet of the first terminal device so that it can be subsequently sent through the PDU session of the second terminal device. In other words, the network device can effectively control the PDU session release process and data packet transmission and reception process between interconnected multi-access devices, thereby reducing data packet loss. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] FIG1 is an exemplary diagram of a system architecture of a wireless communication system to which an embodiment of the present application may be applied.

[0019] FIG2 is another exemplary diagram of a system architecture of a wireless communication system to which embodiments of the present application may be applied.

[0020] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of the dual registration process.

[0021] FIG4 is a flow chart of a wireless communication method provided in accordance with an embodiment of the present application.

[0022] FIG5 is a schematic flow chart of a wireless communication method provided in another embodiment of the present application.

[0023] FIG6 is a flowchart of a wireless communication method provided in yet another embodiment of the present application.

[0024] FIG7 is a flowchart of a wireless communication method provided in yet another embodiment of the present application.

[0025] FIG8 is a flowchart of a wireless communication method provided in yet another embodiment of the present application.

[0026] FIG9 is a flowchart of a wireless communication method provided in yet another embodiment of the present application.

[0027] FIG10 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0028] FIG11 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0029] FIG12 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network device provided in another embodiment of the present application.

[0030] FIG13 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] Communication system architecture

[0032] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: global system of mobile communication (GSM) system, code division multiple access (CDMA) system, wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) system, general packet radio service (GPRS), long term evolution (LTE) system, advanced long term evolution (LTE-A) system, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, LTE time division duplex (TDD) system, new radio (NR) system, NR system evolution system, LTE on unlicensed spectrum (LTE-U) system, NR on unlicensed spectrum (NR-U) system, non-terrestrial networks (NTN) system, terrestrial networks (TN) system, universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS) system. system (UMTS), wireless local area networks (WLAN), wireless fidelity (WIFI), fifth-generation (5G) systems, etc. The technical solutions provided in this application can also be applied to other communication systems, such as future communication systems, such as the sixth-generation mobile communication system, and satellite communication systems.

[0033] Generally speaking, traditional communication systems support a limited number of connections and are easy to implement. However, with the development of communication technology, mobile communication systems will not only support traditional communications, but will also support, for example, device-to-device (D2D) communication, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, and the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to these communication systems.

[0034] The communication system in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to a carrier aggregation (CA) scenario, a dual connectivity (DC) scenario, and a standalone (SA) networking scenario.

[0035] The communication system in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to an unlicensed spectrum, where the unlicensed spectrum can also be considered as a shared spectrum; or, the communication system in the embodiment of the present application can also be applied to an authorized spectrum, where the authorized spectrum can also be considered as a dedicated spectrum.

[0036] An important feature of the communication system architecture (such as the 5G system architecture) is that the communication system architecture can be a service-oriented architecture, that is, the network elements (service providers) in the core network can provide specific services and make them available to other network elements (consumers) through defined API interfaces.

[0037] Figures 1 and 2 exemplarily illustrate example diagrams of the system architecture of a wireless communication system to which embodiments of the present application may be applied. Taking the 5G system architecture as an example, the wireless communication system may include multiple network elements, nodes, or devices, such as terminal equipment, access network (AN) equipment, UPF network element, access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, session management function (SMF) network element, policy control function (PCF) network element, and application function (AF) network element. The wireless communication system may also include a DN, etc.

[0038] The following is an illustrative description of the functions of each part or network element involved in the wireless communication system in the 5G network.

[0039] Terminal device: A terminal device may also be referred to as user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent, or user apparatus. In the embodiments of the present application, a terminal device may refer to a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to a user and can be used to connect people, objects, and machines, such as a handheld device or vehicle-mounted device with wireless connectivity. The terminal device in the embodiments of the present application can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a PDA, a mobile internet device (MID), a wearable device, a vehicle equipment, a virtual reality (VR) device, an augmented reality (AR) device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical surgery, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, etc.

[0040] Access network equipment: Access network equipment provides network access for authorized terminal devices in a specific area and can utilize transmission channels of varying quality based on the terminal device's level and service requirements. Access network equipment manages wireless resources, provides access services to terminal devices, and forwards control signals and data between terminal devices and the core network.

[0041] An access network device may be a device in a wireless network. An access network device may also be referred to as a radio access network (RAN) device or a network device. For example, an access network device may be a base station. The access network device in the embodiments of the present application may refer to a radio access network (RAN) node (or device) that connects a terminal device to a wireless network. A base station can broadly cover various names as follows, or be replaced with the following names, such as: NodeB, evolved NodeB (eNB), next generation NodeB (gNB), relay station, transmission point (TRP), transmission point (TP), master station MeNB, secondary station SeNB, multi-standard radio (MSR) node, home base station, network controller, access node, wireless node, access point (AP), transmission node, transceiver node, baseband unit (BBU), remote radio unit (RRU), active antenna unit (AAU), remote radio head (RRH), central unit (CU), distributed unit (DU), positioning node, etc. A base station can be a macro base station, a micro base station, a relay node, a donor node or the like, or a combination thereof. A base station can also refer to a communication module, modem or chip used to be set in the aforementioned device or apparatus. The base station can also be a mobile switching center and a device that performs base station functions in device-to-device D2D, vehicle-to-everything (V2X), and machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, a network-side device in a 6G network, or a device that performs base station functions in future communication systems. The base station can support networks with the same or different access technologies. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form used by the access network device.

[0042] Base stations can be fixed or mobile. For example, a helicopter or drone can be configured to act as a mobile base station, and one or more cells can move based on the location of the mobile base station. In other examples, a helicopter or drone can be configured to act as a device that communicates with another base station.

[0043] In some deployments, the access network device in the embodiments of the present application may refer to a CU or a DU, or the access network device may include a CU and a DU. The gNB may also include an AAU.

[0044] The access network equipment and terminal equipment can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; they can also be deployed on water; they can also be deployed in the air on aircraft, balloons, and satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the scenarios in which the access network equipment and terminal equipment are located.

[0045] UPF network element: UPF is the user plane function in the core network, which can be responsible for forwarding and receiving user data (such as business data flow) in the terminal device. UPF can be connected to the access network equipment (such as base station) and the external data network for data transmission. For example, UPF can receive user data from DN and transmit it to the terminal device through the access network equipment; or, UPF can also receive user data from the terminal device through the access network equipment and then forward it to DN. The transmission resources and scheduling functions in UPF that provide services to terminal devices are managed and controlled by SMF. In some embodiments, UPF can be divided into intermediate-UPF (I-UPF) and anchor UPF (A-UPF). Among them, I-UPF is connected to the access network, A-UPF is the UPF of the session anchor, and A-UPF can also be called PDU session anchor (PSA).

[0046] AMF network element: AMF is the mobility management function in the core network. It can be used to implement other functions of the mobility management entity (MME) in addition to session management, such as lawful interception or access authorization (or authentication). In some embodiments, in addition to performing mobility management for terminal devices, the AMF can also be responsible for forwarding session management related messages between terminal devices and SMF.

[0047] SMF network element: SMF is the session management function in the core network. It is mainly responsible for session management, Internet protocol (IP) address allocation and management of terminal devices, selection of endpoints for manageable user plane functions, policy control, or charging function interfaces, downlink data notification, and configuration of routing information for user plane functions.

[0048] PCF network element: PCF is the policy management function in the core network, which is responsible for formulating policies related to mobility management, session management, billing, etc. for terminal devices. Specifically, PCF can provide policy rule information to functional network elements of the control plane (such as AMF and SMF network elements) to manage and control mobility management and session management of terminal devices.

[0049] AF network element: The AF primarily supports interaction with the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) core network to provide services, such as influencing data routing decisions, policy control functions, or providing third-party services to the network. Alternatively, the AF can be primarily used to communicate application-side requirements to the network. In some embodiments, the AF can be an application within the operator, such as the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) technology. In some embodiments, the AF can be understood as a third-party server, such as an application server on the Internet, providing relevant service information, including providing service-related quality of service (QoS) requirement information to the PCF and sending service user plane data information to the A-UPF. In some embodiments, the AF can also be a service provider (content provider, CP). In some embodiments, if the AF is within the operator and is within the same trusted domain as other network functions (NFs), it can directly interact and access other NFs. If the AF is not within the trusted domain, it needs to access other NFs through other network elements (e.g., the NEF network element described below).

[0050] DN: A DN is a network used to transmit data. It can be a private network, such as a local area network (LAN), an external network not controlled by a carrier, such as the internet, or a proprietary network deployed jointly with carriers, such as the network that provides IMS services.

[0051] It should be understood that the above network elements in the core network can also be referred to as functional entities, and this application does not limit this. For example, the UPF network element can also be referred to as the UPF entity, and the AMF network element can also be referred to as the AMF entity, etc. It should also be understood that in some embodiments, the xx network element or the xx functional entity can also be directly referred to as xx, for example, the UPF network element (or UPF entity) can be referred to as UPF, and the AMF network element (or AMF entity) can be referred to as AMF. For the sake of convenience of description, the xx (such as UPF, AMF, etc.) mentioned in the embodiments of this application can refer to the xx network element or the xx entity, which will not be repeated later.

[0052] Optionally, the wireless communication system may also include a unified data management (UDM) network element, an authentication and authorization service function (AUSF) network element, a network slice selection function (NSSF) network element, a network exposure function (NEF) network element, a network data analysis function (NWDAF) and other network elements, but the embodiments of the present application are not limited to this.

[0053] The UDM network element is a subscription database in the core network, which can be used to generate and store subscription data of users in the network (for example, 5G network), management of authentication data and other functions. The UDM network element can support interaction with external third-party servers. The AUSF network element can be used to receive AMF's request for terminal device identity authentication, request a key from the UDM, and then forward the issued key to the AMF for authentication processing. The NSSF network element can be used for network slice selection. The NEF network element can be responsible for managing the network data opened to the outside world by 5G network elements. External non-trusted applications need to access the core network's internal data through the NEF to ensure the security of the 3GPP network. In some embodiments, the NEF network element can also provide external application QoS capability opening, event subscription, AF request distribution and other functions. The NWDAF network element can collect data from various network elements, network management systems, etc. in the core network for big data statistics, analysis or intelligent data analysis, so as to obtain analysis results on the network side or prediction data on the network side, thereby assisting each network element to more effectively control the terminal device based on the data analysis results.

[0054] In the wireless communication systems shown in Figures 1 and 2, various components or network elements can communicate with each other through interfaces. For example, a terminal device can establish an access layer connection with the AN through the Uu interface, exchanging access layer messages and wireless data transmission; a terminal device can establish a non-access stratum (NAS) connection with the AMF through the N1 interface, exchanging NAS messages; the AN can connect to the AMF through the N2 interface to transmit radio bearer control information from the core network to the AN; the UPF can transmit data with the AN through the N3 interface and with the DN through the N6 interface, etc. The interfaces connecting other components or network elements can be seen in Figures 1 and 2 and will not be described in detail here.

[0055] It should be understood that the terminal devices, access network devices, SMFs, and PCFs shown in Figures 1 and 2 are merely names, and the names do not limit the devices themselves. In 5G networks and other future networks, the network elements corresponding to terminal devices, access network devices, SMFs, and PCFs may also have other names, and this embodiment of the application does not specifically limit this.

[0056] It should be understood that the above-mentioned communication system is illustrated using the 5G system as an example. Of course, the present application can also be applied to other 3GPP communication systems, such as the 4G communication system, or future 3GPP communication systems, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited to this.

[0057] It should be understood that all or part of the functions of the communication device in this application can also be implemented through software functions running on hardware, or through virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (such as a cloud platform).

[0058] It should be understood that the system architecture described in the embodiments of the present application is intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application. Those skilled in the art will know that with the evolution of network architecture, the embodiments of the present application may also be applicable to similar technical problems.

[0059] Dual Registration

[0060] In certain communication systems (such as NR systems), in order to ensure service coverage and continuity, increase system capacity, etc., terminal devices may need to access multiple 3GPP networks simultaneously (for example, access a 5G network and a 4G network at the same time, or access two 5G networks at the same time, etc.), and perform traffic switching and diversion between multiple access networks. In some embodiments, when a terminal device accesses two 5G networks at the same time, it can access the 5G networks of two public land mobile networks (PLMNs).

[0061] To ensure service continuity when a terminal device accesses multiple networks simultaneously, a fundamental requirement is to allow the terminal device to register with multiple access networks simultaneously. For example, in a dual-registration scenario, a terminal device needs to register with both access networks simultaneously, maintaining a dual-registration state. To minimize the impact on existing networks, one feasible implementation is to use two subscriber identity modules (SIMs) to access both networks. This approach can be considered as two interconnected terminal devices simultaneously accessing both networks.

[0062] The following describes the process of a terminal device accessing a 5G network and a 4G network simultaneously with reference to Figure 3. The method shown in Figure 3 includes steps S310 to S330.

[0063] In step S310, the terminal device attaches to and registers with the access network of the evolved packet core (EPC) of LTE. The terminal device is assigned a 4G globally unique temporary UE identity (4G-GUTI) by the EPC (this identifier is a temporary UE ID assigned by the mobility management entity (MME) and can be used to identify the corresponding MME and the terminal device).

[0064] In steps S312 to S318, the terminal device accesses the 5G network and sends a registration request to the 5G core network. The terminal device uses the 4G-GUTI identifier converted to 5G-GUTI as its temporary identifier and reports it to the 5G core network.

[0065] In step S320, the AMF registers the terminal device information with the UDM+ home subscriber server (HSS), and at the same time notifies the network element not to cancel the registration of the terminal device in LTE (through the MME).

[0066] In steps S322 to S326, the registration process of the terminal device in the 5G access network is completed.

[0067] In steps S328 to S330, the terminal device establishes a PDU session (5G access network) and releases the public data network (PDN) connection (LTE access network).

[0068] It can be seen that the above process is applicable to the dual registration mode of a single terminal device, and the core network requires the UE to report the associated access network information (GUTI information contains relevant information of the MME) when registering, so that when interacting with a unified management network element (for example, UDM+HSS), the network element can simultaneously obtain information about the two access networks. In addition, the same session control network element is used in the above process. The session control network element can assign the same IP address to the two connected sessions based on the association relationship between the two access networks to ensure business continuity. This technology relies on the same UE, and the GUTI information can be associated between the two access networks, which requires the two access networks to be operated by the same operator.

[0069] On the other hand, the above dual access registration process is only applicable to dual access scenarios based on 4G network and 5G network.

[0070] On the other hand, the above dual access registration process is only applicable to network switching triggered by terminal mobility.

[0071] Multi-USIM technology (multi-USIM, MUSIM)

[0072] MUSIM technology allows a single terminal device to have multiple universal subscriber identity modules (USIM) cards, each connected to different access networks. In other words, with MUSIM technology, a single terminal device can be equipped with multiple (usually two) USIM cards. These two USIM cards can independently register with the network, establish corresponding sessions, and conduct independent services. The two USIM cards are not linked to each other and appear to the network as two independent terminal devices.

[0073] In addition, when a terminal device registers to different 5G networks, it is also independently connected to the two 5G networks. From the network side, it appears that two independent terminal devices are connected to the two 5G networks, and there is no connection between the two terminal devices.

[0074] As can be seen from the above description, although the current dual registration and handover mechanism can support IP preservation (to ensure that the IP address remains unchanged before and after the handover, thus ensuring service continuity), it is only applicable to the scenario where a single SIM card is switching between EPC and 5GC, and only supports handovers triggered by mobility. This feature cannot be applied to the more universal handover between 5GC and 5GC, nor can it support service continuity when switching between dual SIM cards.

[0075] In response to the above problems, an embodiment of the present application proposes that when a terminal device performs dual registration, the terminal device can provide the network with information about associated multi-access devices so that the network side can associate the dual-registered terminal devices, thereby facilitating business continuity.

[0076] In scenarios where a terminal device provides information about its associated multi-access devices to the network, a dual-registered terminal device can be considered a related multi-access device. Therefore, in dual-registration mode, how the network coordinates the communication between the associated multi-access devices is a problem that needs to be solved.

[0077] Based on this, embodiments of the present application provide a wireless communication method, terminal device, and network device, which facilitate the network device to effectively control the PDU session release process and data packet transmission and reception process between mutually associated multi-access devices, thereby reducing data packet loss. The following describes the method embodiments of the present application.

[0078] Figure 4 is a flow chart of a wireless communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. The method shown in Figure 4 is described from the perspective of interaction between a first terminal device and a first network element. The first terminal device and the first network element are first introduced below.

[0079] In an embodiment of the present application, the first terminal device may be, for example, the terminal device shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 2 .

[0080] In the embodiment of the present application, the first terminal device may be a multi-access device, or in other words, the first terminal device may be a terminal device for multi-access communication. In other words, the first terminal device supports multi-access services (multi-access functionality).

[0081] In some embodiments, the "multi-access device" mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may mean that the multi-access device and other multi-access devices associated with it can simultaneously access different networks (for example, simultaneously access multiple 3GPP networks). For example, a first terminal device and a second terminal device are mutually associated multi-access devices, and the first terminal device and the second terminal device can simultaneously access different networks.

[0082] In some embodiments, the "multi-access device" mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as or replaced by a "dual steer device." Accordingly, the multi-access service or multi-access function may also be referred to as or replaced by a dual steer service or dual steer function.

[0083] In some embodiments, the first terminal device may be associated with one or more multi-access devices. For example, the first terminal device may be associated with a second terminal device, where the second terminal device is a multi-access device associated with the first terminal device.

[0084] In some embodiments, when the first terminal device and the second terminal device are mutually associated multi-access devices, the first terminal device and the second terminal device can implement two terminal device functions to access different networks respectively.

[0085] In some embodiments, when the first terminal device and the second terminal device are mutually associated multi-access devices, the first terminal device and the second terminal device may be integrated into the same physical entity. For example, the first terminal device and the second terminal device may be two different SIM cards (or USIM cards) in the terminal devices.

[0086] In some embodiments, when the first terminal device and the second terminal device are mutually associated multi-access devices, the first terminal device and the second terminal device may be mutually independent terminal devices.

[0087] In some embodiments, the first terminal device and the second terminal device are mutually associated multi-access devices, which can be understood as the first terminal device and the second terminal device being two mutually associated devices in dual registration mode. Taking the example of a terminal device simultaneously accessing two 5G networks, the first terminal device and the second terminal device can be devices accessing the two 5G networks, respectively. Taking the example of a terminal device simultaneously accessing a 4G network and a 5G network, the first terminal device and the second terminal device can be devices accessing the 4G network and the 5G network, respectively.

[0088] The first network element may be a network element in a core network. For example, the first network element may be a network element, node, or device that performs a session management function. Taking the NR system as an example, the first network element may be an SMF. However, the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto. The first network element may also be another network element for performing a session management function. For example, the first network element may be a network element, node, or device for performing a session management function in a future communication system.

[0089] The method shown in Figure 4 includes step S410, which is described below.

[0090] In step S410, a first terminal device receives a first message sent by a first network element. The first message is used to release a first PDU session. In some embodiments, the first message may also be referred to as a session release message or a session release instruction.

[0091] In the embodiment of the present application, the first PDU session is established by the first terminal device. That is, in the embodiment of the present application, the first message can be used to release the PDU session established by the first terminal device.

[0092] In some embodiments, the first terminal device may register before establishing the first PDU session.

[0093] The embodiments of the present application do not restrict the registration order between a first terminal device and a multi-access device associated with the first terminal device. Taking the example of a second terminal device being a multi-access device associated with the first terminal device, the embodiments of the present application do not restrict the registration order between the first terminal device and the second terminal device. For example, the registration of the first terminal device may occur before the registration of the second terminal device. Alternatively, the registration of the first terminal device may occur after the registration of the second terminal device. Alternatively, the registration of the first terminal device and the registration of the second terminal device may occur simultaneously.

[0094] In some embodiments, the first terminal device and the second terminal device can be registered to different networks (for example, to different 3GPP networks). As an example, the first terminal device and the second terminal device can be registered to two different 5G networks, such as 5G networks of two PLMNs. As another example, the first terminal device and the second terminal device can be registered to a 4G network and a 5G network, respectively. As yet another example, the first terminal device and the second terminal device can be registered to a 5G network and a future communication network (such as a 6G network), respectively.

[0095] In some embodiments, when the first terminal device and the second terminal device are registered separately, the network element used for registration management can be the same network element or different network elements. Taking the NR system as an example, when the first terminal device and the second terminal device are registered separately, the network element used for registration management can be the same AMF or different AMFs.

[0096] In some embodiments, a PDU session may be established after the second terminal device is registered. For example, a second PDU session may be established after the second terminal device is registered.

[0097] In some embodiments, the first PDU session is established earlier than the second PDU session, or in other words, the second PDU session is established later than the first PDU session. For example, the first terminal device may first establish the first PDU session, and then, when the first terminal device is triggered to switch to the second terminal device, the second terminal device may establish the second PDU session.

[0098] The embodiments of the present application do not limit the scenario that triggers the handover of the first terminal device to the second terminal device. For example, a mobility scenario can trigger the handover of the first terminal device to the second terminal device. Alternatively, a dual-steer scenario can trigger the handover of the first terminal device to the second terminal device.

[0099] The embodiment of the present application does not limit the order of the establishment process of the first PDU session and the registration process of the second terminal device. As an example, the establishment process of the first PDU session may be earlier than the registration process of the second terminal device. For example, after the first terminal device establishes the first PDU session, it registers the second terminal device because it needs to trigger switching. As another example, the establishment process of the first PDU session may be later than the registration process of the second terminal device. For example, the registration process of the second terminal device is irrelevant to the service of the first terminal device, and the second terminal device can register on its own.

[0100] In some embodiments, the UE IP corresponding to the first PDU session is the same as the UE IP corresponding to the second PDU session. In this way, the network can transmit data to the first terminal device via the second PDU session, or can transmit data to the second terminal device via the first PDU session. The implementation method of having the UE ID corresponding to the first PDU session and the UE IP corresponding to the second PDU session be the same will be described later and will not be described in detail here.

[0101] In some embodiments, the first PDU session is released after the second PDU session is successfully established. That is, the first message can be sent by the first network element to the first terminal device after the second PDU session is successfully established. In this way, the embodiment of the present application can support the sending of uplink and downlink data packets through the first PDU session during the process of establishing the second PDU session. When the second PDU session is successfully established, the first PDU session is released to ensure business continuity.

[0102] In some embodiments, the first message may include first information. The first information may be used to instruct the first terminal device to buffer the uplink data packet.

[0103] In some embodiments, the uplink data packet cached by the first terminal device is sent via the second PDU session. For example, after the first network element sends first information to the first terminal device instructing the first terminal device to cache the uplink data packet, the first network element may send indication information to the second terminal device during the establishment of the second PDU session to instruct the second terminal device to send the uplink data packet cached by the first terminal device via the second PDU session.

[0104] In some embodiments, during the establishment of the second PDU session, the first network element may carry indication information in step S510 mentioned later to instruct the second terminal device to send the uplink data packet cached by the first terminal device through the second PDU session.

[0105] In some embodiments, the first network element may further configure the second network element to first cache downlink data packets sent to the first terminal device.

[0106] In this embodiment of the present application, by configuring the second network element and the first terminal device to first buffer the data packets and then send the data packets through the second PDU session, this ensures service continuity and prevents data packets from being discarded after the first PDU session is released. In addition, when using this method, only one path is effective at a time (i.e., only one of the first and second PDU sessions is available), which can avoid the problem of data packets being out of order when sending data packets on both paths at the same time.

[0107] In some embodiments, the first information can be understood as cache switching indication information, which is used to instruct the first terminal device to cache uplink data packets.

[0108] In some embodiments, the first information may be configuration information, or in other words, the first information may be used to configure the first terminal device. For example, the first information may be a packet detection rule and / or forwarding rule configured for the first terminal device.

[0109] In some embodiments, the data packet detection rule and / or forwarding rule configured for the first terminal device may include: the first terminal device buffering uplink data packets.

[0110] In an embodiment of the present application, the network can release the PDU session of the first terminal device after the PDU session of the second terminal device is successfully established. Alternatively, when releasing the PDU session of the first terminal device, the network can cache the data packets of the first terminal device so that they can be subsequently sent through the PDU session of the second terminal device. In other words, the network can effectively control the PDU session release process and data packet transmission and reception process between interconnected multi-access devices, thereby reducing data packet loss.

[0111] In some embodiments, during the establishment of the second PDU session, the uplink data packet of the first terminal device can be sent through the second PDU session. For example, during the establishment of the second PDU session, after the uplink resources corresponding to the second PDU session are successfully configured, the uplink data packet of the first terminal device can be sent through the second PDU session.

[0112] In some embodiments, the successful configuration of uplink resources corresponding to the second PDU session can be understood as the first network element successfully configuring the second terminal device. That is, in some embodiments, during the establishment of the second PDU session, after the first network element successfully configures the second terminal device, the uplink data packet of the first terminal device can be sent through the second PDU session.

[0113] In some embodiments, the successful configuration of uplink resources corresponding to the second PDU session can be understood as the first network element successfully configuring the second terminal device and the access network device. That is, in some embodiments, during the establishment of the second PDU session, after the first network element successfully configures the second terminal device and the access network device, the uplink data packet of the first terminal device can be sent via the second PDU session.

[0114] In some embodiments, the first network element configuring the second terminal device and / or the access network device may include configuring an uplink channel (tunnel) related to the second terminal device and / or the access network device.

[0115] In some embodiments, during the establishment of the second PDU session, the uplink data packet of the first terminal device can be sent through the first PDU session. For example, during the establishment of the second PDU session, before the uplink resources corresponding to the second PDU session are successfully configured, the uplink data packet of the first terminal device can be sent through the first PDU session.

[0116] In some embodiments, during the establishment of the second PDU session, the downlink data packet sent to the first terminal device can be sent via the first PDU session. For example, during the establishment of the second PDU session, the first PDU session has not been released, and the downlink data packet sent to the first terminal device can be sent via the first PDU session.

[0117] In some embodiments, during the establishment of the second PDU session, downlink data packets sent to the first terminal device can be sent via the second PDU session. For example, during the establishment of the second PDU session, after the context information of the second PDU session is successfully configured, the downlink data packets sent to the first terminal device can be sent via the second PDU session. In other words, during the establishment of the second PDU session, after the downlink resources corresponding to the second PDU session are successfully configured, the downlink data packets sent to the first terminal device can be sent via the second PDU session.

[0118] In some embodiments, the first network element configuring the context information of the second PDU session can be understood as the first network element configuring the downlink resources of the second PDU session or the first network element configuring the second network element (such as UPF), for example, configuring the execution rules on the second network element side.

[0119] The second network element may be a network element that performs data transmission with the first terminal device. In some embodiments, the second network element may be a network element in the core network. For example, the second network element may be a network element related to the user plane in the core network. Taking the NR system as an example, the second network element may be a UPF. It is understood that the second network element may also be another network element that performs data transmission with the first terminal device. For example, the second network element may be a network element, node, or device related to the user plane in a future communication system.

[0120] In some embodiments, during the establishment of the second PDU session, downlink data packets sent to the first terminal device may be cached by the second network element. For example, during the establishment of the second PDU session, the first PDU session has been released, and downlink data packets sent to the first terminal device may be temporarily cached by the second network element.

[0121] In some embodiments, during the establishment of the second PDU session, the uplink data packet of the first terminal device can be sent through the second PDU session, and the downlink data packet sent to the first terminal device can be sent through the first PDU session. For example, during the establishment of the second PDU session, the uplink resource configuration corresponding to the second PDU session is successful, and the first PDU session has not been released. In this case, the uplink data packet of the first terminal device can be sent through the second PDU session, and the downlink data packet sent to the first terminal device can be sent through the first PDU session.

[0122] In some embodiments, during the establishment of the second PDU session, uplink data packets of the first terminal device may be sent via the PDU session, and downlink data packets sent to the first terminal device may be cached by the second network element. For example, during the establishment of the second PDU session, the uplink resources corresponding to the second PDU session are successfully configured, but the downlink resources have not yet been configured and the first PDU session has been released. In this case, the uplink data packets of the first terminal device may be sent via the second PDU session, and the downlink data packets sent to the first terminal device may be cached by the second network element.

[0123] In some embodiments, during the establishment of the second PDU session, the first network element first configures the second terminal device and then configures the second network element, that is, the first network element first configures the uplink resources corresponding to the second PDU session, and then configures the downlink resources corresponding to the second PDU session (or the context information of the second PDU session). In this case, when the uplink resource configuration is completed and the downlink resource is not configured, the uplink data packet of the first terminal device can be sent by the second PDU session, and the downlink data packet sent to the first terminal device can be sent by the first PDU session. Alternatively, when the uplink resource configuration is completed and the downlink resource is not configured, the uplink data packet of the first terminal device can be sent by the second PDU session, and the downlink data packet sent to the first terminal device can be cached by the second network element.

[0124] In some embodiments, during the establishment of the second PDU session, after the uplink resources and downlink resources corresponding to the second PDU session are successfully configured, the uplink data packet of the first terminal device and the downlink data packet sent to the first terminal device are both sent through the second PDU session.

[0125] In some embodiments, after the second PDU session is successfully established, the uplink data packet of the first terminal device and the downlink data packet sent to the first terminal device can both be sent through the second PDU session.

[0126] In some embodiments, after the second PDU session is successfully established, sending an uplink data packet to the first terminal device via the second PDU session can be understood as sending an uplink data packet via the second PDU session using the first IP address. The first IP address is the IP address of the first terminal device and / or the second terminal device. In other words, the first IP address is the UE IP address corresponding to the second PDU session and is also the UE IP address corresponding to the first PDU session.

[0127] As mentioned above, the first network element may configure the uplink resources corresponding to the second PDU session and / or the context information of the second PDU session. This will be described below with reference to FIG5 .

[0128] The method shown in FIG. 5 may include step S510 and step S520 .

[0129] In step S510, the first network element sends configuration information to the second terminal device. The configuration information can be used to configure the uplink resources corresponding to the second PDU session. In other words, the configuration information can be used to configure the second terminal device. In the embodiment of the present application, step S510 belongs to the step in the process of establishing the second PDU session. That is, during the process of establishing the second PDU session, the first network element can use the configuration information to configure the second terminal device. After the configuration process is completed, the uplink resource configuration corresponding to the second PDU session is completed, and then the first terminal device and / or the second terminal device can use the second PDU session to send uplink data packets.

[0130] In some embodiments, the configuration information may carry indication information to instruct the second terminal device to send the uplink data packet cached by the first terminal device through the second PDU session.

[0131] In step S520, the first network element sends a second message to the second network element. The second message is used to configure the context information of the second PDU session. For example, the second message may include configuration information for configuring the context information of the second PDU session, or in other words, the second message can be used to configure the second network element. In an embodiment of the present application, step S520 belongs to the step in the process of establishing the second PDU session. That is, in the process of establishing the second PDU session, the first network element can use the second message to configure the context information of the second PDU session. After the configuration process is completed, the downlink resource configuration corresponding to the second PDU session is completed, and thereafter, the downlink data packet sent to the first terminal device and / or the second terminal device can be sent through the second PDU session.

[0132] In some embodiments, the second message may be sent via the N4 interface.

[0133] In some embodiments, the second message may also be referred to as an N4 message, an N4 request, etc.

[0134] In some embodiments, the second message may carry identification information indicating the second PDU session. For example, the second message may carry an N4 session ID, which corresponds to the identifier of the second PDU session. In this way, the second network element can configure context information for the second PDU session based on the identification information.

[0135] In some embodiments, the second message may include a first configuration. The first configuration may be used to configure downlink data packet forwarding for the first terminal device and / or the second terminal device. In other words, the first configuration may be used to configure downlink data packet forwarding for a first IP address. The first IP address is the IP address of the first terminal device and / or the second terminal device. In other words, the first IP address is the UE IP address corresponding to the second PDU session and is also the UE IP address corresponding to the first PDU session.

[0136] In some embodiments, the first configuration may be an execution rule of a configuration. For example, the first configuration may be used to configure a detection rule and / or a forwarding rule for a data packet.

[0137] In some embodiments, configuring detection rules and / or forwarding rules for a data packet includes configuring a data packet sent to the first IP address and corresponding forwarding rules.

[0138] In some embodiments, the first configuration may be used to indicate that the downlink data packet sent to the first IP address is sent via the second PDU session. For example, the first configuration may be used to indicate that the downlink data packet sent to the first IP address is sent via the downlink tunnel corresponding to the second PDU session.

[0139] In some embodiments, the first configuration may further be used to indicate that the priority of the first configuration is higher than the priority of the packet detection rule or forwarding rule corresponding to the first PDU session. For example, the priority of the packet detection rule or forwarding rule included in the first configuration is higher than the priority of the packet detection rule or forwarding rule corresponding to the first PDU session. In this way, a downlink packet sent to the first IP address can be sent through the second PDU session instead of the first PDU session.

[0140] In some embodiments, the second message is sent before the first message.

[0141] In some embodiments, when the second message is sent before the first message, the first configuration may include: the downlink data packet sent to the first IP address is sent through the second PDU session, and the priority of the first configuration is higher than the priority of the data packet detection rule or forwarding rule corresponding to the first PDU session.

[0142] In some embodiments, the first configuration may also be used to indicate that the priority of the first configuration is higher than the priority of the second configuration. The second configuration may be used to configure the second network element to cache downlink data packets sent to the first IP address. For example, the priority of the data packet detection rule or forwarding rule included in the first configuration is higher than the priority of the data packet detection rule or forwarding rule included in the second configuration. In this way, downlink data packets sent to the first IP address can be sent via the second PDU session instead of continuing to be cached.

[0143] In some embodiments, the second message is sent after the first message.

[0144] In some embodiments, when the second message is sent after the first message, the first configuration may include: the downlink data packet sent to the first IP address is sent through the second PDU session, and the priority of the first configuration is higher than the priority of the second configuration.

[0145] Continuing to refer to Figure 5, in some embodiments, the method shown in Figure 5 may further include step S505. In step S505, the first network element sends a third message to the second network element.

[0146] In some embodiments, the third message may be sent via the N4 interface.

[0147] In some embodiments, the third message may also be referred to as an N4 message, an N4 request, etc.

[0148] In some embodiments, the third message may carry identification information indicating the second PDU session. For example, the third message may carry an N4 session ID, which corresponds to the identifier of the second PDU session. In this way, the second network element can determine the second PDU session based on the identification information.

[0149] In some embodiments, the third message may be used to configure cache indication information. For example, the third message may include the second configuration, and the second configuration may be used to configure downlink data packet forwarding of the first IP address.

[0150] In some embodiments, the second configuration may be used to instruct the second network element to cache downlink data packets sent to the first IP address.

[0151] In some embodiments, the second configuration may be an execution rule of a configuration. For example, the second configuration may be used to configure a detection rule and / or a forwarding rule for a data packet.

[0152] In some embodiments, configuring detection rules and / or forwarding rules for a data packet includes configuring a data packet sent to the first IP address and corresponding forwarding rules.

[0153] In some embodiments, the second configuration may include one or more of the following: caching downlink data packets sent to the first IP address, with the second configuration having a higher priority than the packet detection rule or forwarding rule corresponding to the first PDU session. In this way, downlink data packets sent to the first IP address may be cached first, thereby ensuring that after the first PDU session is released, downlink data packets sent to the first IP address are cached rather than discarded.

[0154] In some embodiments, step S505 is performed before step S520.

[0155] In some embodiments, step S505 is performed before step S510.

[0156] In some embodiments, step S505 is performed before step S510 and step S520.

[0157] In some embodiments, step S505 is performed before the first network element sends the first message.

[0158] 5 , in some embodiments, the method shown in FIG5 may further include step S530. In step S530, the first network element sends a fourth message to the second network element. The fourth message is used to release the second configuration.

[0159] In some embodiments, step S530 is performed after step S520. That is, the first network element may first request the second network element to send a downlink data packet sent to the first IP address through the second PDU session, and then release the previously stored second configuration (release the previous data packet caching rule).

[0160] As mentioned above, the UE IP address corresponding to the first PDU session and the UE IP address corresponding to the second PDU session may be the same. An implementation method in which the UE IP address corresponding to the first PDU session and the UE IP address corresponding to the second PDU session are the same is given below.

[0161] In some embodiments, when the second terminal device requests to establish the second PDU session, it may carry second information. The second information facilitates the network to associate the second PDU session with the first PDU session. For example, the network may determine, based on the second information, that the UE IP address corresponding to the first PDU session is the same as the UE IP address corresponding to the second PDU session.

[0162] The second information is introduced below.

[0163] In some embodiments, the second information may be used to indicate that the PDU session associated with the second PDU session is the first PDU session.

[0164] In some embodiments, the second information may be used to indicate that the multi-access device associated with the second terminal device is the first terminal device.

[0165] In some embodiments, the second information may include information related to the first PDU session and / or information related to the first terminal device.

[0166] The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific content of the second information. Exemplarily, the second information may include one or more of the following: an identifier of the first terminal device, a first identifier, an identifier of the first PDU session, slice information of the first PDU session, and IP address information corresponding to the first PDU session.

[0167] In the embodiment of the present application, the first identifier can be used to associate the first terminal device with the second terminal device. Therefore, in some embodiments, the first identifier can also be called or understood as an association identifier of the first terminal device and the second terminal device.

[0168] The present application embodiment does not limit the configuration of the first identifier. In some embodiments, the first identifier can be configured by the network device corresponding to the first terminal device. In some embodiments, the first identifier can be configured by the network device corresponding to the second terminal device.

[0169] The embodiment of the present application does not limit the network device that configures the first identifier. For example, the first identifier can be configured by an AMF, for example, the AMF to which the first terminal device belongs or the AMF to which the second terminal device belongs. However, the embodiment of the present application is not limited to this, and the first identifier can also be configured by other network elements in the core network (such as SMF).

[0170] In some embodiments, after the AMF or other network element configures the first identifier, the first identifier may be sent to the first terminal device and / or the second terminal device via the AMF. For example, the first identifier may be sent by the AMF to which the first terminal device belongs. Alternatively, the first identifier may be sent by the AMF to which the second terminal device belongs.

[0171] In some embodiments, the slice information of the first PDU session may include one or more of the following: a data network name (DNN) corresponding to the first PDU session, and single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI). For example, the slice information of the first PDU session may include DNN S-NSSAI.

[0172] As an example, the second information may include an identifier of the first terminal device and an identifier of the first PDU session.

[0173] As another example, the second information may include an identifier of the first terminal device and slice information of the first PDU session.

[0174] As another example, the second information may include the first identifier and slice information of the first PDU session.

[0175] As another example, the second information may include an identifier of the first terminal device and IP address information of the first PDU session.

[0176] As another example, the second information may include an identifier of the first terminal device, an identifier of the first PDU session, and IP address information of the first PDU session.

[0177] As another example, the second information may include the first identifier, the identifier of the first PDU session, and IP address information of the first PDU session.

[0178] As another example, the second information may include the first identifier, slice information of the first PDU session, and IP address information of the first PDU session.

[0179] In some embodiments, the second terminal device can send the second information to the AMF, and then the AMF sends the second information to the first network element.

[0180] In some embodiments, after the second terminal device sends the second information to the AMF, the AMF may process the second information and send the processed information to the first network element. In other words, after the second terminal device sends the second information to the AMF, the AMF may determine third information based on the second information and send the third information to the first network element.

[0181] In an embodiment of the present application, the third information can be used to indicate that the PDU session associated with the second PDU session is the first PDU session.

[0182] In some embodiments, the third information may be used to indicate that the multi-access device associated with the second terminal device is the first terminal device.

[0183] In some embodiments, the third information may include information related to the first PDU session and / or information related to the first terminal device.

[0184] The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific content of the third information. For example, the third information may include one or more of the following: an identifier of the first terminal device, a first identifier, an identifier of the first PDU session, slice information of the first PDU session, and IP address information corresponding to the first PDU session.

[0185] As an example, the second information received by AMF includes the first identifier and the slice information of the first PDU session. The AMF can determine, based on the second information, that the third information includes the identifier of the first terminal device and the identifier of the first PDU session. Afterwards, the AMF can send the determined third information to the first network element.

[0186] In some embodiments, the first network element may associate the second PDU session with the first PDU session based on the received second information or third information.

[0187] In some embodiments, the first network element may determine to release the first PDU session based on the second information or the third information. For example, the first network element may determine based on the second information or the third information that the PDU session associated with the second PDU session is the first PDU session, and then release the first PDU session after the second PDU session is successfully established. Alternatively, the first network element may determine based on the second information or the third information that the PDU session associated with the second PDU session is the first PDU session, configure the first terminal device corresponding to the first PDU session to cache uplink data packets, and release the first PDU session.

[0188] The following is an illustrative introduction to the process of the method of the embodiment of the present application in conjunction with two embodiments. It should be noted that the following is only an illustrative description of the process. For the content not described in detail below, please refer to the description above, such as the content contained in the first message, the first information, the second information, etc., and for example, the content contained in the first configuration when the second message is sent before the first message, and the content contained in the first configuration when the second message is sent after the first message, etc., please refer to the description above.

[0189] Example 1: The first PDU session is released after the second PDU session is successfully established

[0190] Figure 6 is a flow chart of a wireless communication method provided by another embodiment of the present application. The method shown in Figure 6 may include steps S610 to S640.

[0191] In step S610, the second terminal device sends a session establishment request to the AMF. The session establishment request is used to request to establish a second PDU session.

[0192] In some embodiments, the session establishment request carries second information.

[0193] In step S620, the AMF sends a session establishment request to the first network element. The session establishment request is used to request establishment of a second PDU session.

[0194] In some embodiments, the session establishment request carries the second information or the third information.

[0195] In some embodiments, the session establishment request may also carry dualsteer switching indication information.

[0196] In step S630, the first network element sends a second message to the second network element. The second message is used to configure context information of the second PDU session.

[0197] In some embodiments, the second message includes the first configuration.

[0198] In step S640, the first network element sends a first message to the first terminal device. The first message is used to release the first PDU session. The first message is sent after the second PDU session is successfully established.

[0199] FIG7 is a flow chart of a wireless communication method provided by another embodiment of the present application. The method shown in FIG7 may include steps S701 to S712.

[0200] It should be noted that the network element for registration management corresponding to the first terminal device (such as AMF) and the network element for registration management corresponding to the second terminal device can be the same or different. The method shown in Figure 7 is described based on the fact that the AMF corresponding to the first terminal device and the AMF corresponding to the second terminal device are different.

[0201] In step S701 and step S702, the first terminal device and the second terminal device are registered respectively.

[0202] In some embodiments, step S702 may be performed earlier than step S701.

[0203] In some embodiments, the execution order of step S702 may be later than step S703 and earlier than step S704.

[0204] In step S703, the first terminal device establishes a first PDU session.

[0205] For example, in step S703, the UE IP address allocated by the network device to the first PDU session is the first IP address, or in other words, the IP address corresponding to the first terminal device is the first IP address.

[0206] In step S704, the second terminal device sends a session establishment request to the AMF. The session establishment request is used to request establishment of a second PDU session.

[0207] In some embodiments, the session establishment request carries second information.

[0208] In some embodiments, establishment of the second PDU session is triggered based on a dualsteer handover.

[0209] In step S705, the AMF sends a session establishment request to the first network element. The session establishment request is used to request establishment of a second PDU session.

[0210] In some embodiments, the session establishment request carries the second information or the third information.

[0211] In some embodiments, the session establishment request may also carry dualsteer switching indication information.

[0212] In step S706, the second PDU session is established.

[0213] Step S706 is mainly used by the first network element to configure the second terminal device and configure the relevant uplink tunnel of the access network device.

[0214] After the configuration in step S706 , the uplink resource configuration corresponding to the second PDU session is completed.

[0215] In some embodiments, after the uplink resource configuration corresponding to the second PDU session is completed, the downlink data packets sent to the first IP address are still sent through the first PDU session, and the uplink data packets sent by the first IP address are sent through the second PDU session.

[0216] In step S707, the second terminal device sends an uplink data packet using the first IP address through the second PDU session.

[0217] In step S708, the first network element sends a second message to the second network element. The second message is used to configure context information of the second PDU session.

[0218] In some embodiments, the second message is an N4 request.

[0219] In some embodiments, the second message includes identification information (eg, N4 session ID) for indicating the second PDU session.

[0220] In some embodiments, the second message includes the first configuration.

[0221] In some embodiments, the first configuration includes: the downlink data packet sent to the first IP address is sent through the second PDU session, and the priority of the first configuration is higher than the priority of the data packet detection rule or forwarding rule corresponding to the first PDU session, ensuring that the downlink data packet can be sent through the second PDU session instead of through the first PDU session.

[0222] In step S709, the second network element sends a response message of the second message to the first network element.

[0223] In some embodiments, the response message to the second message is an N4 response.

[0224] In some embodiments, after step S709, both the downlink data packet sent to the first IP address and the uplink data packet sent by the first IP address are sent via the second PDU session.

[0225] In step S710, the first network element determines to release the first PDU session according to the association relationship between the first PDU session and the second PDU session.

[0226] For example, the first network element determines to release the first PDU session based on the second information or the third information.

[0227] In step S711, the first network element sends a first message to the first terminal device. The first message is used to release the first PDU session.

[0228] In step S712, the first terminal device and the network device execute a release process of the first PDU session.

[0229] Example 1 can support establishing the second PDU session first, and then releasing the first PDU session after the data packet is normally transmitted through the second PDU session, thereby ensuring service continuity.

[0230] Example 2: Carrying indication information when establishing the second PDU session

[0231] FIG8 is a flow chart of a wireless communication method according to another embodiment of the present application. The method shown in FIG8 may include steps S810 to S860.

[0232] In step S810, the second terminal device sends a session establishment request to the AMF. The session establishment request is used to request establishment of a second PDU session.

[0233] In some embodiments, the session establishment request carries second information.

[0234] In step S820, the AMF sends a session establishment request to the first network element. The session establishment request is used to request establishment of a second PDU session.

[0235] In some embodiments, the session establishment request carries the second information or the third information.

[0236] In some embodiments, the session establishment request may also carry dualsteer switching indication information.

[0237] In step S830, the first network element sends a third message to the second network element. The third message may be used to configure cache indication information.

[0238] In some embodiments, the third message includes the second configuration.

[0239] In some embodiments, the third message may be an N4 request.

[0240] In step S840, the first network element sends a first message to the first terminal device. The first message is used to release the first PDU session.

[0241] At this time, the second PDU session has not been successfully established.

[0242] After step S840, the first terminal device and the network device execute a release process of the first PDU session.

[0243] After step S840, the second terminal device and the network device execute a process of establishing a second PDU session.

[0244] In step S850, the first network element sends a second message to the second network element. The second message is used to configure context information of the second PDU session.

[0245] In some embodiments, the second message includes the first configuration.

[0246] In step S860, the first network element sends a fourth message to the second network element. The fourth message is used to release the second configuration.

[0247] FIG9 is a flow chart of a wireless communication method provided by another embodiment of the present application. The method shown in FIG9 may include steps S901 to S904.

[0248] It should be noted that the network element for registration management corresponding to the first terminal device (such as AMF) and the network element for registration management corresponding to the second terminal device can be the same or different. The method shown in Figure 9 is described based on the fact that the AMF corresponding to the first terminal device and the AMF corresponding to the second terminal device are different.

[0249] In step S901 and step S902 , the first terminal device and the second terminal device are registered respectively.

[0250] In some embodiments, step S902 may be performed earlier than step S901.

[0251] In some embodiments, the execution order of step S902 may be later than step S903 and earlier than step S904.

[0252] In step S903, the first terminal device establishes a first PDU session.

[0253] For example, in step S903, the UE IP address allocated by the network device to the first PDU session is the first IP address, or in other words, the IP address corresponding to the first terminal device is the first IP address.

[0254] In step S904, the second terminal device sends a session establishment request to the AMF. The session establishment request is used to request establishment of a second PDU session.

[0255] In some embodiments, the session establishment request carries second information.

[0256] In some embodiments, establishment of the second PDU session is triggered based on a dualsteer handover.

[0257] In step S905, the AMF sends a session establishment request to the first network element. The session establishment request is used to request establishment of a second PDU session.

[0258] In some embodiments, the session establishment request carries the second information or the third information.

[0259] In some embodiments, the session establishment request may also carry dualsteer switching indication information.

[0260] In step S906, the first network element sends a third message to the second network element. The third message can be used to configure cache indication information.

[0261] In some embodiments, the third message is an N4 request.

[0262] In some embodiments, the third message includes identification information (eg, N4 session ID) for indicating the second PDU session.

[0263] In some embodiments, the third message includes the second configuration.

[0264] In step S907, the second network element buffers the downlink data packet sent to the first IP address.

[0265] In step S908, the first network element sends a first message to the first terminal device. The first message is used to release the first PDU session.

[0266] In some embodiments, the first message includes first information.

[0267] In step S909, the first terminal device and the network device execute a release process of the first PDU session.

[0268] In step S910, the second PDU session is established.

[0269] Step S910 is mainly used by the first network element to configure the second terminal device and configure the relevant uplink tunnel of the access network device.

[0270] After the configuration in step S910 , the uplink resource configuration corresponding to the second PDU session is completed.

[0271] In some embodiments, after the uplink resource configuration corresponding to the second PDU session is completed, the downlink data packet sent to the first IP address is cached by the second network element, and the uplink data packet sent by the first IP address is sent through the second PDU session.

[0272] In step S911, the second terminal device sends an uplink data packet using the first IP address through the second PDU session.

[0273] In step S912, the first network element sends a second message to the second network element. The second message is used to configure context information of the second PDU session.

[0274] In some embodiments, the second message is an N4 request.

[0275] In some embodiments, the second message includes identification information (eg, N4 session ID) for indicating the second PDU session.

[0276] In some embodiments, the second message includes the first configuration.

[0277] In some embodiments, the first configuration includes: the downlink data packet sent to the first IP address is sent through the second PDU session, and the priority of the first configuration is higher than the priority of the second configuration, ensuring that the downlink data packet can be sent through the second PDU session instead of continuing to be cached.

[0278] In step S913, the second network element sends the buffered downlink data packet through the second PDU session.

[0279] In step S914, the first network element sends a fourth message to the second network element. The fourth message is used to release the second configuration.

[0280] Example 2 adopts a method of configuring the first terminal device and the second network element to buffer the data packet before sending it, including service continuity. In addition, in Example 2, only one path is effective at the same time, which helps to avoid the problem of data packet disorder caused by sending data packets simultaneously on two paths.

[0281] The method embodiment of the present application is described in detail above in conjunction with Figures 1 to 9 . The device embodiment of the present application is described in detail below in conjunction with Figures 10 to 13 . It should be understood that the description of the method embodiment corresponds to the description of the device embodiment. Therefore, for portions not described in detail, reference can be made to the above method embodiment.

[0282] FIG10 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The terminal device 1000 shown in FIG10 can be any of the first terminal devices mentioned above. The terminal device 1000 includes a receiving module 1010.

[0283] The receiving module 1010 can be used to receive a first message sent by a first network element, where the first message is used to release a first PDU session; the first PDU session is released after the second PDU session is successfully established; or, the first message includes first information, where the first information is used to instruct the first terminal device to cache uplink data packets; wherein, the second PDU session is established by a second terminal device, and the second terminal device is a multi-access device associated with the first terminal device.

[0284] Optionally, the terminal device IP address corresponding to the first PDU session is the same as the terminal device IP address corresponding to the second PDU session.

[0285] Optionally, after the uplink resources corresponding to the second PDU session are successfully configured, the uplink data packet of the first terminal device is sent through the second PDU session, and / or the downlink data packet sent to the first terminal device is sent through the first PDU session.

[0286] Optionally, after the uplink resources corresponding to the second PDU session are successfully configured, the uplink data packet of the first terminal device is sent through the second PDU session, and / or the downlink data packet sent to the first terminal device is cached by the UPF.

[0287] Optionally, after the second PDU session is successfully established, the uplink data packet of the first terminal device and the downlink data packet sent to the first terminal device are sent through the second PDU session.

[0288] Optionally, the release of the first PDU session is determined based on second information or third information, and the second information or third information is used to indicate that the PDU session associated with the second PDU session is the first PDU session.

[0289] Optionally, the second information or the third information includes one or more of the following: an identifier of the first terminal device; a first identifier, the first identifier being used to associate the first terminal device and the second terminal device; an identifier of the first PDU session; slice information of the first PDU session; and IP address information corresponding to the first PDU session.

[0290] Optionally, the first identifier is sent by the AMF to which the first terminal device belongs, or the first identifier is sent by the AMF to which the second terminal device belongs.

[0291] Optionally, the first network element is SMF.

[0292] Optionally, the receiving module 1010 may be a transceiver 1330. The terminal device 1000 may further include a processor 1310 and a memory 1320, as specifically shown in FIG13 .

[0293] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The network device 1100 shown in Figure 11 can be any of the first network elements described above, for example, the network device 1100 can be an SMF. The network device 1100 can include a first sending module 1110.

[0294] The first sending module 1110 can be used to send a first message to the first terminal device, and the first message is used to release the first PDU session; the first PDU session is released after the second PDU session is successfully established; or, the first message includes first information, and the first information is used to instruct the first terminal device to cache uplink data packets; wherein, the second PDU session is established by the second terminal device, and the second terminal device is a multi-access device associated with the first terminal device.

[0295] Optionally, the terminal device IP address corresponding to the first PDU session is the same as the terminal device IP address corresponding to the second PDU session.

[0296] Optionally, the network device also includes: a second sending module 1120, used to send a second message to the second network element, the second message is used to configure the context information of the second PDU session, the second message includes a first configuration, the first configuration is used to indicate that the downlink data packet sent to the first IP address is sent through the second PDU session, and the first IP address is the IP address of the first terminal device and / or the second terminal device.

[0297] Optionally, the first configuration is also used to indicate: the priority of the first configuration is higher than the priority of the data packet detection rule or forwarding rule corresponding to the first PDU session; or the priority of the first configuration is higher than the priority of the second configuration, and the second configuration is used to configure the second network element to cache the downlink data packets sent to the first IP address.

[0298] Optionally, the second message is sent before the first message, and the first configuration includes: the downlink data packet sent to the first IP address is sent through the second PDU session; and the priority of the first configuration is higher than the priority of the data packet detection rule or forwarding rule corresponding to the first PDU session.

[0299] Optionally, after the uplink resources corresponding to the second PDU session are successfully configured, the uplink data packet of the first terminal device is sent through the second PDU session, and / or the downlink data packet sent to the first terminal device is sent through the first PDU session.

[0300] Optionally, the second message is sent after the first message, and the first configuration includes: the downlink data packet sent to the first IP address is sent through the second PDU session; and the priority of the first configuration is higher than the priority of the second configuration, and the second configuration is used to configure the second network element to cache the downlink data packet sent to the first IP address.

[0301] Optionally, the network device further includes: a third sending module, configured to send a third message to the second network element, where the third message includes the second configuration.

[0302] Optionally, the second configuration includes one or more of the following: caching downlink data packets sent to the first IP address; the priority of the second configuration is higher than the priority of the data packet detection rules or forwarding rules corresponding to the first PDU session.

[0303] Optionally, the network device further includes: a fourth sending module, configured to send a fourth message to the second network element, where the fourth message is used to release the second configuration.

[0304] Optionally, after the uplink resources corresponding to the second PDU session are successfully configured, the uplink data packet of the first terminal device is sent through the second PDU session, and / or the downlink data packet sent to the first terminal device is cached by the UPF.

[0305] Optionally, after the second PDU session is successfully established, the uplink data packet of the first terminal device and the downlink data packet sent to the first terminal device are sent through the second PDU session.

[0306] Optionally, the release of the first PDU session is determined based on second information or third information, and the second information or third information is used to indicate that the PDU session associated with the second PDU session is the first PDU session.

[0307] Optionally, the second information or the third information includes one or more of the following: an identifier of the first terminal device; a first identifier, the first identifier being used to associate the first terminal device and the second terminal device; an identifier of the first PDU session; slice information of the first PDU session; and IP address information corresponding to the first PDU session.

[0308] Optionally, the first identifier is sent by the AMF to which the first terminal device belongs, or the first identifier is sent by the AMF to which the second terminal device belongs.

[0309] Optionally, the first network element is SMF.

[0310] Optionally, the second network element is a UPF.

[0311] Optionally, the first sending module 1110 may be a transceiver 1330. The network device 1100 may further include a processor 1310 and a memory 1320, as specifically shown in FIG13 .

[0312] FIG12 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network device provided by another embodiment of the present application. The network device 1200 shown in FIG12 can be any of the second network elements described above, for example, the network device 1200 can be a UPF. The network device 1200 can include a first receiving module 1210.

[0313] The first receiving module 1210 can be used to receive a second message sent by the first network element, the second message is used to configure the context information of the second PDU session, the second message includes a first configuration, the first configuration is used to indicate that the downlink data packet sent to the first IP address is sent through the second PDU session, the first IP address is the IP address of the first terminal device and / or the second terminal device, the second PDU session is established by the second terminal device, and the second terminal device is a multi-access device associated with the first terminal device.

[0314] Optionally, the first configuration is also used to indicate: the priority of the first configuration is higher than the priority of the data packet detection rule or forwarding rule corresponding to the first PDU session, and the first PDU session is established by the first terminal device; or the priority of the first configuration is higher than the priority of the second configuration, and the second configuration is used to configure the second network element to cache the downlink data packets sent to the first IP address.

[0315] Optionally, the second message is sent before the first network element sends the first message to the first terminal device, the first message is used to release the first PDU session, and the first configuration includes: the downlink data packet sent to the first IP address is sent through the second PDU session; and the priority of the first configuration is higher than the priority of the data packet detection rule or forwarding rule corresponding to the first PDU session.

[0316] Optionally, after the uplink resources corresponding to the second PDU session are successfully configured, the uplink data packet of the first terminal device is sent through the second PDU session, and / or the downlink data packet sent to the first terminal device is sent through the first PDU session.

[0317] Optionally, the second message is sent after the first network element sends the first message to the first terminal device, the first message is used to release the first PDU session, and the first configuration includes: the downlink data packet sent to the first IP address is sent through the second PDU session; and the priority of the first configuration is higher than the priority of the second configuration, and the second configuration is used to configure the second network element to cache the downlink data packet sent to the first IP address.

[0318] Optionally, the network device further includes: a second receiving module 1220, configured to receive a third message sent by the first network element, where the third message includes the second configuration.

[0319] Optionally, the second configuration includes one or more of the following: caching downlink data packets sent to the first IP address; the priority of the second configuration is higher than the priority of the data packet detection rules or forwarding rules corresponding to the first PDU session.

[0320] Optionally, the network device further includes: a third receiving module, configured to receive a fourth message sent by the first network element, where the fourth message is used to release the second configuration.

[0321] Optionally, after the uplink resources corresponding to the second PDU session are successfully configured, the uplink data packet of the first terminal device is sent through the second PDU session, and / or the downlink data packet sent to the first terminal device is cached by the UPF.

[0322] Optionally, the terminal device IP address corresponding to the second PDU session is the same as the terminal device IP address corresponding to the first PDU session established by the first terminal device.

[0323] Optionally, after the second PDU session is successfully established, the uplink data packet of the first terminal device and the downlink data packet sent to the first terminal device are sent through the second PDU session.

[0324] Optionally, the release of the first PDU session established by the first terminal device is determined based on second information or third information, and the second information or third information is used to indicate that the PDU session associated with the second PDU session is the first PDU session.

[0325] Optionally, the second information or the third information includes one or more of the following: an identifier of the first terminal device; a first identifier, the first identifier being used to associate the first terminal device and the second terminal device; an identifier of the first PDU session; slice information of the first PDU session; and IP address information corresponding to the first PDU session.

[0326] Optionally, the first identifier is sent by the AMF to which the first terminal device belongs, or the first identifier is sent by the AMF to which the second terminal device belongs.

[0327] Optionally, the first network element is SMF.

[0328] Optionally, the second network element is a UPF.

[0329] Optionally, the first receiving module 1210 may be a transceiver 1330. The network device 1200 may further include a processor 1310 and a memory 1320, as specifically shown in FIG13 .

[0330] Figure 13 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. The dashed lines in Figure 13 indicate that the unit or module is optional. Apparatus 1300 may be used to implement the method described in the above method embodiment. Apparatus 1300 may be a chip, a terminal device, or a network device.

[0331] The device 1300 may include one or more processors 1310. The processor 1310 may support the device 1300 to implement the method described in the above method embodiment. The processor 1310 may be a general-purpose processor or a special-purpose processor. For example, the processor may be a central processing unit (CPU). Alternatively, the processor may be another general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, discrete hardware component, etc. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may be any conventional processor, etc.

[0332] The apparatus 1300 may further include one or more memories 1320. The memories 1320 store programs that can be executed by the processor 1310, causing the processor 1310 to perform the methods described in the above method embodiments. The memories 1320 may be independent of the processor 1310 or integrated into the processor 1310.

[0333] The apparatus 1300 may further include a transceiver 1330. The processor 1310 may communicate with other devices or chips via the transceiver 1330. For example, the processor 1310 may transmit and receive data with other devices or chips via the transceiver 1330.

[0334] The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing a program. The computer-readable storage medium can be applied to a terminal device or network device provided in the present application, and the program enables a computer to execute the method performed by the terminal device or network device in each embodiment of the present application.

[0335] The present application also provides a computer program product. The computer program product includes a program. The computer program product can be applied to a terminal device or network device provided in the present application, and the program causes a computer to execute the method performed by the terminal device or network device in each embodiment of the present application.

[0336] The present application also provides a computer program that can be applied to a terminal device or network device provided in the present application, and enables a computer to execute the method performed by the terminal device or network device in each embodiment of the present application.

[0337] It should be understood that the terms "system" and "network" in this application can be used interchangeably. In addition, the terms used in this application are only used to explain the specific embodiments of this application and are not intended to limit this application. The terms "first", "second", "third", and "fourth" in the specification and claims of this application and the accompanying drawings are used to distinguish different objects rather than to describe a specific order. In addition, the terms "including" and "having" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions.

[0338] In the embodiments of this application, the term "indication" may refer to a direct indication, an indirect indication, or an indication of an association. For example, "A indicates B" may refer to a direct indication of B, e.g., B can obtain information through A; it may refer to an indirect indication of B, e.g., A indicates C, e.g., B can obtain information through C; or it may refer to an association between A and B.

[0339] In the embodiment of the present application, "B corresponding to A" means that B is associated with A and B can be determined based on A. However, it should be understood that determining B based on A does not mean determining B based solely on A, but B can also be determined based on A and / or other information.

[0340] In the embodiments of the present application, the term "corresponding" may indicate a direct or indirect correspondence between the two, or an association relationship between the two, or a relationship between indication and indication, configuration and configuration, etc.

[0341] In the embodiments of this application, the term "include" can refer to direct inclusion or indirect inclusion. Alternatively, the term "include" in the embodiments of this application can be replaced with "indicates" or "is used to determine." For example, "A includes B" can be replaced with "A indicates B" or "A is used to determine B."

[0342] In the embodiments of the present application, "pre-definition" or "pre-configuration" may be implemented by pre-storing corresponding codes, tables, or other methods that can be used to indicate relevant information in a device (e.g., a terminal device and a network device). The present application does not limit the specific implementation method. For example, pre-definition may refer to information defined in a protocol.

[0343] In the embodiments of the present application, the “protocol” may refer to a standard protocol in the communications field, for example, it may include an LTE protocol, an NR protocol, and related protocols used in future communication systems, and the present application does not limit this.

[0344] In the embodiments of this application, the term "and / or" is simply a description of the association relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. In addition, the character " / " in this document generally indicates that the related objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0345] In various embodiments of the present application, the size of the serial numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0346] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of the units is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0347] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0348] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0349] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be read by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrated therein. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a digital versatile disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state disk (SSD)).

[0350] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included in the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A wireless communication method, characterized in that: include: The first terminal device receives a first message sent by the first network element, where the first message is used to release the first PDU session; The first PDU session is released after the second PDU session is successfully established; or, The first message includes first information, where the first information is used to instruct the first terminal device to buffer uplink data packets; The second PDU session is established by a second terminal device, and the second terminal device is a multi-access device associated with the first terminal device.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The terminal device IP address corresponding to the first PDU session is the same as the terminal device IP address corresponding to the second PDU session.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that After the uplink resources corresponding to the second PDU session are successfully configured, the uplink data packet of the first terminal device is sent through the second PDU session, and / or the downlink data packet sent to the first terminal device is sent through the first PDU session.

4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that After the uplink resources corresponding to the second PDU session are successfully configured, the uplink data packet of the first terminal device is sent through the second PDU session, and / or the downlink data packet sent to the first terminal device is cached by the UPF.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that After the second PDU session is successfully established, the uplink data packet of the first terminal device and the downlink data packet sent to the first terminal device are sent through the second PDU session.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that The release of the first PDU session is determined based on second information or third information, where the second information or third information is used to indicate that the PDU session associated with the second PDU session is the first PDU session.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The second information or the third information includes one or more of the following: an identifier of the first terminal device; a first identifier, where the first identifier is used to associate the first terminal device with the second terminal device; an identifier of the first PDU session; Slice information of the first PDU session; The IP address information corresponding to the first PDU session.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The first identifier is sent by the AMF to which the first terminal device belongs to the first terminal device, or the first identifier is sent by the AMF to which the second terminal device belongs to the second terminal device.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that The first network element is SMF.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that The uplink data packet cached by the first terminal device is sent through the second PDU session.

11. A wireless communication method, characterized in that: include: The first network element sends a first message to the first terminal device, where the first message is used to release the first PDU session; The first PDU session is released after the second PDU session is successfully established; or, The first message includes first information, where the first information is used to instruct the first terminal device to buffer uplink data packets; The second PDU session is established by a second terminal device, and the second terminal device is a multi-access device associated with the first terminal device.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The terminal device IP address corresponding to the first PDU session is the same as the terminal device IP address corresponding to the second PDU session.

13. The method according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first network element sends a second message to the second network element, and the second message is used to configure the context information of the second PDU session. The second message includes a first configuration, and the first configuration is used to indicate that the downlink data packet sent to the first IP address is sent through the second PDU session. The first IP address is the IP address of the first terminal device and / or the second terminal device.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that The first configuration is further used to indicate: The priority of the first configuration is higher than the priority of the data packet detection rule or forwarding rule corresponding to the first PDU session; or The priority of the first configuration is higher than the priority of the second configuration, and the second configuration is used to configure the second network element to cache downlink data packets sent to the first IP address.

15. The method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that The second message is sent before the first message, and the first configuration includes: Downlink data packets sent to the first IP address are sent via the second PDU session; and The priority of the first configuration is higher than the priority of the data packet detection rule or forwarding rule corresponding to the first PDU session.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that After the uplink resources corresponding to the second PDU session are successfully configured, the uplink data packet of the first terminal device is sent through the second PDU session, and / or the downlink data packet sent to the first terminal device is sent through the first PDU session.

17. The method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that The second message is sent after the first message, and the first configuration includes: Downlink data packets sent to the first IP address are sent via the second PDU session; and The priority of the first configuration is higher than the priority of the second configuration, and the second configuration is used to configure the second network element to cache downlink data packets sent to the first IP address.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first network element sends a third message to the second network element, where the third message includes the second configuration.

19. The method according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that The second configuration includes one or more of the following: caching downlink data packets sent to the first IP address; The priority of the second configuration is higher than the priority of the data packet detection rule or forwarding rule corresponding to the first PDU session.

20. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 19, characterized in that After the first network element sends the second message to the second network element, the method further includes: The first network element sends a fourth message to the second network element, where the fourth message is used to release the second configuration.

21. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 20, characterized in that After the uplink resources corresponding to the second PDU session are successfully configured, the uplink data packet of the first terminal device is sent through the second PDU session, and / or the downlink data packet sent to the first terminal device is cached by the UPF.

22. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 21, characterized in that After the second PDU session is successfully established, the uplink data packet of the first terminal device and the downlink data packet sent to the first terminal device are sent through the second PDU session.

23. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 22, characterized in that The release of the first PDU session is determined based on second information or third information, where the second information or third information is used to indicate that the PDU session associated with the second PDU session is the first PDU session.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein The second information or the third information includes one or more of the following: an identifier of the first terminal device; a first identifier, where the first identifier is used to associate the first terminal device with the second terminal device; an identifier of the first PDU session; Slice information of the first PDU session; The IP address information corresponding to the first PDU session.

25. The method according to claim 24, characterized in that The first identifier is sent by the AMF to which the first terminal device belongs to the first terminal device, or the first identifier is sent by the AMF to which the second terminal device belongs to the second terminal device.

26. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 25, characterized in that The first network element is SMF.

27. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 26, characterized in that The second network element is UPF.

28. According to the method according to any one of claims 11-27, the uplink data packet buffered by the first terminal device is sent through the second PDU session.

29. A wireless communication method, characterized in that: include: The second network element receives a second message sent by the first network element, where the second message is used to configure context information of a second PDU session. The second message includes a first configuration, where the first configuration is used to indicate that a downlink data packet sent to a first IP address is sent through the second PDU session. The first IP address is the IP address of the first terminal device and / or the second terminal device, and the second PDU session is established by the second terminal device. The second terminal device is a multi-access device associated with the first terminal device.

30. The method according to claim 29, wherein The first configuration is further used to indicate: The priority of the first configuration is higher than the priority of the data packet detection rule or forwarding rule corresponding to the first PDU session, and the first PDU session is established by the first terminal device; or The priority of the first configuration is higher than the priority of the second configuration, and the second configuration is used to configure the second network element to cache downlink data packets sent to the first IP address.

31. The method according to claim 29 or 30, characterized in that The second message is sent before the first network element sends the first message to the first terminal device, the first message is used to release the first PDU session, and the first configuration includes: Downlink data packets sent to the first IP address are sent via the second PDU session; and The priority of the first configuration is higher than the priority of the data packet detection rule or forwarding rule corresponding to the first PDU session.

32. The method according to claim 31, characterized in that After the uplink resources corresponding to the second PDU session are successfully configured, the uplink data packet of the first terminal device is sent through the second PDU session, and / or the downlink data packet sent to the first terminal device is sent through the first PDU session.

33. The method according to claim 29 or 30, characterized in that The second message is sent after the first network element sends a first message to the first terminal device, where the first message is used to release the first PDU session, and the first configuration includes: Downlink data packets sent to the first IP address are sent via the second PDU session; and The priority of the first configuration is higher than the priority of the second configuration, and the second configuration is used to configure the second network element to cache downlink data packets sent to the first IP address.

34. The method according to claim 33, wherein The method further comprises: The second network element receives a third message sent by the first network element, where the third message includes the second configuration.

35. The method according to claim 33 or 34, characterized in that The second configuration includes one or more of the following: caching downlink data packets sent to the first IP address; The priority of the second configuration is higher than the priority of the data packet detection rule or forwarding rule corresponding to the first PDU session.

36. The method according to any one of claims 33 to 35, characterized in that The method further comprises: The second network element receives a fourth message sent by the first network element, where the fourth message is used to release the second configuration.

37. The method according to any one of claims 33 to 36, wherein: After the uplink resources corresponding to the second PDU session are successfully configured, the uplink data packet of the first terminal device is sent through the second PDU session, and / or the downlink data packet sent to the first terminal device is cached by the UPF.

38. The method according to any one of claims 29 to 37, wherein The terminal device IP address corresponding to the second PDU session is the same as the terminal device IP address corresponding to the first PDU session established by the first terminal device.

39. The method according to any one of claims 29 to 38, wherein After the second PDU session is successfully established, the uplink data packet of the first terminal device and the downlink data packet sent to the first terminal device are sent through the second PDU session.

40. The method according to any one of claims 29 to 39, wherein The release of the first PDU session established by the first terminal device is determined based on the second information or the third information, and the second information or the third information is used to indicate that the PDU session associated with the second PDU session is the first PDU session.

41. The method according to claim 40, characterized in that The second information or the third information includes one or more of the following: an identifier of the first terminal device; a first identifier, where the first identifier is used to associate the first terminal device with the second terminal device; an identifier of the first PDU session; Slice information of the first PDU session; The IP address information corresponding to the first PDU session.

42. The method according to claim 41, wherein The first identifier is sent by the AMF to which the first terminal device belongs to the first terminal device, or the first identifier is sent by the AMF to which the second terminal device belongs to the second terminal device.

43. The method according to any one of claims 29 to 42, wherein: The first network element is SMF.

44. The method according to any one of claims 29 to 43, wherein: The second network element is UPF.

45. The method according to any one of claims 29 to 44, wherein: The uplink data packet cached by the first terminal device is sent through the second PDU session.

46. ​​A terminal device, characterized in that: The terminal device is a first terminal device, and the terminal device includes: A receiving module, configured to receive a first message sent by a first network element, where the first message is used to release a first PDU session; The first PDU session is released after the second PDU session is successfully established; or, The first message includes first information, where the first information is used to instruct the first terminal device to buffer uplink data packets; The second PDU session is established by a second terminal device, and the second terminal device is a multi-access device associated with the first terminal device.

47. The terminal device according to claim 46, characterized in that The terminal device IP address corresponding to the first PDU session is the same as the terminal device IP address corresponding to the second PDU session.

48. The terminal device according to claim 46 or 47, characterized in that After the uplink resources corresponding to the second PDU session are successfully configured, the uplink data packet of the first terminal device is sent through the second PDU session, and / or the downlink data packet sent to the first terminal device is sent through the first PDU session.

49. The terminal device according to claim 46 or 47, characterized in that After the uplink resources corresponding to the second PDU session are successfully configured, the uplink data packet of the first terminal device is sent through the second PDU session, and / or the downlink data packet sent to the first terminal device is cached by the UPF.

50. The terminal device according to any one of claims 46 to 49, characterized in that: After the second PDU session is successfully established, the uplink data packet of the first terminal device and the downlink data packet sent to the first terminal device are sent through the second PDU session.

51. The terminal device according to any one of claims 46 to 50, characterized in that: The release of the first PDU session is determined based on second information or third information, where the second information or third information is used to indicate that the PDU session associated with the second PDU session is the first PDU session.

52. The terminal device according to claim 51, characterized in that The second information or the third information includes one or more of the following: an identifier of the first terminal device; a first identifier, where the first identifier is used to associate the first terminal device with the second terminal device; an identifier of the first PDU session; Slice information of the first PDU session; The IP address information corresponding to the first PDU session.

53. The terminal device according to claim 52, characterized in that The first identifier is sent by the AMF to which the first terminal device belongs to the first terminal device, or the first identifier is sent by the AMF to which the second terminal device belongs to the second terminal device.

54. The terminal device according to any one of claims 46 to 53, characterized in that: The first network element is SMF.

55. The terminal device according to any one of claims 46 to 54, characterized in that: The uplink data packet cached by the first terminal device is sent through the second PDU session.

56. A network device, characterized in that The network device is a first network element, and the network device includes: A first sending module, configured to send a first message to a first terminal device, where the first message is used to release a first PDU session; The first PDU session is released after the second PDU session is successfully established; or, The first message includes first information, where the first information is used to instruct the first terminal device to buffer uplink data packets; The second PDU session is established by a second terminal device, and the second terminal device is a multi-access device associated with the first terminal device.

57. The network device according to claim 56, wherein: The terminal device IP address corresponding to the first PDU session is the same as the terminal device IP address corresponding to the second PDU session.

58. The network device according to claim 56 or 57, characterized in that: The network device further includes: The second sending module is used to send a second message to the second network element, where the second message is used to configure the context information of the second PDU session. The second message includes a first configuration, where the first configuration is used to indicate that the downlink data packet sent to the first IP address is sent through the second PDU session, and the first IP address is the IP address of the first terminal device and / or the second terminal device.

59. The network device according to claim 58, characterized in that The first configuration is further used to indicate: The priority of the first configuration is higher than the priority of the data packet detection rule or forwarding rule corresponding to the first PDU session; or The priority of the first configuration is higher than the priority of the second configuration, and the second configuration is used to configure the second network element to cache downlink data packets sent to the first IP address.

60. The network device according to claim 58 or 59, characterized in that: The second message is sent before the first message, and the first configuration includes: Downlink data packets sent to the first IP address are sent via the second PDU session; and The priority of the first configuration is higher than the priority of the data packet detection rule or forwarding rule corresponding to the first PDU session.

61. The network device according to claim 60, wherein: After the uplink resources corresponding to the second PDU session are successfully configured, the uplink data packet of the first terminal device is sent through the second PDU session, and / or the downlink data packet sent to the first terminal device is sent through the first PDU session.

62. The network device according to claim 58 or 59, characterized in that: The second message is sent after the first message, and the first configuration includes: Downlink data packets sent to the first IP address are sent via the second PDU session; and The priority of the first configuration is higher than the priority of the second configuration, and the second configuration is used to configure the second network element to cache downlink data packets sent to the first IP address.

63. The network device according to claim 62, characterized in that The network device further includes: A third sending module is used to send a third message to the second network element, where the third message includes the second configuration.

64. The network device according to claim 62 or 63, characterized in that The second configuration includes one or more of the following: caching downlink data packets sent to the first IP address; The priority of the second configuration is higher than the priority of the data packet detection rule or forwarding rule corresponding to the first PDU session.

65. The network device according to any one of claims 62 to 64, characterized in that: The network device further includes: The fourth sending module is used to send a fourth message to the second network element, where the fourth message is used to release the second configuration.

66. The network device according to any one of claims 62-65, characterized in that After the uplink resources corresponding to the second PDU session are successfully configured, the uplink data packet of the first terminal device is sent through the second PDU session, and / or the downlink data packet sent to the first terminal device is cached by the UPF.

67. The network device according to any one of claims 56 to 66, characterized in that: After the second PDU session is successfully established, the uplink data packet of the first terminal device and the downlink data packet sent to the first terminal device are sent through the second PDU session.

68. The network device according to any one of claims 56 to 67, characterized in that: The release of the first PDU session is determined based on second information or third information, where the second information or third information is used to indicate that the PDU session associated with the second PDU session is the first PDU session.

69. The network device according to claim 65, characterized in that The second information or the third information includes one or more of the following: an identifier of the first terminal device; a first identifier, where the first identifier is used to associate the first terminal device with the second terminal device; an identifier of the first PDU session; Slice information of the first PDU session; The IP address information corresponding to the first PDU session.

70. The network device according to claim 69, wherein: The first identifier is sent by the AMF to which the first terminal device belongs to the first terminal device, or the first identifier is sent by the AMF to which the second terminal device belongs to the second terminal device.

71. The network device according to any one of claims 56 to 70, characterized in that: The first network element is SMF.

72. The network device according to any one of claims 56 to 71, characterized in that: The second network element is UPF.

73. The network device according to any one of claims 56 to 72, characterized in that: The uplink data packet cached by the first terminal device is sent through the second PDU session.

74. A network device, characterized in that The network device is a second network element, and the network device includes: The first receiving module is used to receive a second message sent by the first network element, where the second message is used to configure context information of a second PDU session. The second message includes a first configuration, where the first configuration is used to indicate that a downlink data packet sent to a first IP address is sent through the second PDU session. The first IP address is the IP address of the first terminal device and / or the second terminal device, and the second PDU session is established by the second terminal device. The second terminal device is a multi-access device associated with the first terminal device.

75. The network device according to claim 74, characterized in that The first configuration is further used to indicate: The priority of the first configuration is higher than the priority of the data packet detection rule or forwarding rule corresponding to the first PDU session, and the first PDU session is established by the first terminal device; or The priority of the first configuration is higher than the priority of the second configuration, and the second configuration is used to configure the second network element to cache downlink data packets sent to the first IP address.

76. The network device according to claim 74 or 75, characterized in that The second message is sent before the first network element sends the first message to the first terminal device, the first message is used to release the first PDU session, and the first configuration includes: Downlink data packets sent to the first IP address are sent via the second PDU session; and The priority of the first configuration is higher than the priority of the data packet detection rule or forwarding rule corresponding to the first PDU session.

77. The network device according to claim 76, characterized in that After the uplink resources corresponding to the second PDU session are successfully configured, the uplink data packet of the first terminal device is sent through the second PDU session, and / or the downlink data packet sent to the first terminal device is sent through the first PDU session.

78. The network device according to claim 74 or 75, characterized in that The second message is sent after the first network element sends a first message to the first terminal device, where the first message is used to release the first PDU session, and the first configuration includes: Downlink data packets sent to the first IP address are sent via the second PDU session; and The priority of the first configuration is higher than the priority of the second configuration, and the second configuration is used to configure the second network element to cache downlink data packets sent to the first IP address.

79. The network device according to claim 78, characterized in that The network device further includes: The second receiving module is used to receive a third message sent by the first network element, where the third message includes the second configuration.

80. The network device according to claim 78 or 79, characterized in that The second configuration includes one or more of the following: caching downlink data packets sent to the first IP address; The priority of the second configuration is higher than the priority of the data packet detection rule or forwarding rule corresponding to the first PDU session.

81. The network device according to any one of claims 78 to 80, characterized in that: The network device further includes: The third receiving module is used to receive a fourth message sent by the first network element, where the fourth message is used to release the second configuration.

82. The network device according to any one of claims 78 to 81, characterized in that: After the uplink resources corresponding to the second PDU session are successfully configured, the uplink data packet of the first terminal device is sent through the second PDU session, and / or the downlink data packet sent to the first terminal device is cached by the UPF.

83. The network device according to any one of claims 74 to 82, characterized in that: The terminal device IP address corresponding to the second PDU session is the same as the terminal device IP address corresponding to the first PDU session established by the first terminal device.

84. The network device according to any one of claims 74 to 83, characterized in that After the second PDU session is successfully established, the uplink data packet of the first terminal device and the downlink data packet sent to the first terminal device are sent through the second PDU session.

85. The network device according to any one of claims 74 to 84, characterized in that The release of the first PDU session established by the first terminal device is determined based on the second information or the third information, and the second information or the third information is used to indicate that the PDU session associated with the second PDU session is the first PDU session.

86. The network device according to claim 85, characterized in that The second information or the third information includes one or more of the following: an identifier of the first terminal device; a first identifier, where the first identifier is used to associate the first terminal device with the second terminal device; an identifier of the first PDU session; Slice information of the first PDU session; The IP address information corresponding to the first PDU session.

87. The network device according to claim 86, wherein: The first identifier is sent by the AMF to which the first terminal device belongs to the first terminal device, or the first identifier is sent by the AMF to which the second terminal device belongs to the second terminal device.

88. The network device according to any one of claims 74 to 87, characterized in that: The first network element is SMF.

89. The network device according to any one of claims 74 to 88, characterized in that The second network element is UPF.

90. The network device according to any one of claims 74 to 89, characterized in that: The uplink data packet cached by the first terminal device is sent through the second PDU session.

91. A terminal device, characterized in that: The terminal device comprises a transceiver, a memory and a processor, wherein the memory is used to store a program, and the processor is used to call the program in the memory so that the terminal device executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

92. A network device, characterized in that The network device comprises a memory and a processor, wherein the memory is used to store a program, and the processor is used to call the program in the memory so as to enable the network device to execute the method according to any one of claims 11-28 or 29-45.

93. A device, characterized in that The device comprises a processor configured to call a program from a memory so as to cause the device to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 45.

94. A chip, characterized in that The device comprises a processor configured to call a program from a memory so that a device equipped with the chip executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 45.

95. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that A program is stored thereon, the program causing a computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 45.

96. A computer program product, characterized in that The method comprises a program for causing a computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 45.

97. A computer program, characterized in that The computer program causes a computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 45.

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