Communication method, terminal, a-iot device, and storage medium

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to the technical field of communications, and in particular relates to a communication method, a terminal, an A-IoT device, and a storage medium. The method comprises: an application function (AF) sending first information to a first network element, wherein the first information is used for changing a policy related to an ambient Internet of Things (A-IoT) device. In the present disclosure, an AF sends first information, and the first information provides an instruction to change a policy related to an A-IoT device, thereby changing the policy related to the A-IoT device.

Description

Communication method, terminal, A-IoT device and storage medium Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of communication technologies, and in particular to a communication method, a terminal, an A-IoT device, and a storage medium. Background Art

[0002] Ambient IoT devices are powered by energy harvesting technology, but their energy storage capabilities are limited. The relevant characteristics of ambient IoT devices are defined in the relevant protocols.

[0003] Summary of the Invention

[0004] How to implement policy changes related to A-IoT is a problem that needs to be solved.

[0005] The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication method, a terminal, an A-IoT device, and a storage medium.

[0006] According to a first aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication method is proposed, the method including: an application function AF sends first information to a first network element, where the first information is used to change a policy related to an ambient Internet of Things device A-IoT.

[0007] According to a second aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication method is proposed, which includes: a first network element receives first information sent by an application function AF, and the first information is used to change a policy related to an environmental Internet of Things device A-IoT:.

[0008] According to a third aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication method is proposed, which includes: receiving second information sent by a first network element and storing the second information, wherein the second information is obtained by mapping the first information from external information to internal information, the second information is used to determine the A-IoT policy change decision of the environmental Internet of Things device, and the first information is used to change the A-IoT related policy.

[0009] According to a fourth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication method is proposed, which includes: a third network element receives a first message sent by a second network element, the first message is triggered by the situation where the third network element subscribes to the second information, and the first message is used to notify that the second information has changed; the third network element determines an A-IoT policy change decision for an environmental Internet of Things device based on the changed second information, the A-IoT policy change decision is used to change the policy of the terminal and / or change the policy of the A-IoT, the A-IoT policy change decision is determined based on the second information, the second information is obtained by mapping the first information from external information to internal information, and the first information is used to change the policy related to the environmental Internet of Things device A-IoT.

[0010] According to a fifth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication method is proposed, which includes: a fourth network element receives a policy sent by a third network element; the fourth network element sends the policy to an ambient Internet of Things device A-IoT, or sends the policy to a terminal; wherein the policy is determined based on an A-IoT policy change decision, and the A-IoT policy change decision is triggered and determined by the situation where the third network element subscribes to second information, and the A-IoT policy change decision is used to change the policy of the terminal and / or change the policy of the A-IoT, and the second information is obtained by mapping the first information from external information to internal information, and the first information is used to change A-IoT-related policies.

[0011] According to a sixth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication method is proposed, the method including: a terminal receives a policy sent by a fourth network element, wherein the policy is determined based on an A-IoT policy change decision of an environmental Internet of Things device, the A-IoT policy change decision is triggered and determined by a situation in which a third network element subscribes to second information, the A-IoT policy change decision is used to change the policy of the terminal, and / or change the policy of the A-IoT, the second information is obtained by mapping the first information from external information to internal information, and the first information is used to change A-IoT-related policies.

[0012] According to the seventh aspect of the embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication method is proposed, which includes: an A-IoT device receives an A-IoT policy sent by a fourth network element, or receives a policy sent by a terminal; performing a policy update based on the policy; wherein the policy is determined based on the A-IoT policy change decision of the environmental Internet of Things device, and the A-IoT policy change decision is triggered and determined by the third network element subscribing to the second information, and the A-IoT policy change decision is used to change the policy of the terminal and / or change the policy of the A-IoT, and the second information is the first information obtained by mapping the external information to the internal information, and the first information is used to change the A-IoT-related policy.

[0013] According to the eighth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication method is proposed, which includes: an application function AF sends first information to a first network element, and the first information is used to change a policy related to an environmental Internet of Things device A-IoT; the first network element receives the first information sent by the application function AF; the first network element authorizes the first information, and when the first information includes external information, maps the external information to internal information to obtain second information, and the second information is used to determine a policy change decision of the environmental Internet of Things device A-IoT, and sends the second information to a second network element; the second network element receives and stores the second information; when a third network element subscribes to the second information, the second network element sends a first message to the third network element, and is used to notify the third network element that the second information has changed, so that the third network element determines the policy change decision of the environmental Internet of Things device A-IoT based on the second information, and the A-IoT policy change decision is used to change the policy of the terminal. , and / or change the policy of the A-IoT; the third network element sends the policy to the fourth network element; the fourth network element receives the policy and sends the policy to the A-IoT, or sends the policy to the terminal; in the case where the fourth network element sends the policy to the terminal, the terminal receives the policy, and in response to the A-IoT policy change decision being used to change the policy of the A-IoT, the terminal sends the policy to the A-IoT; in response to the A-IoT policy change decision being used to change the policy of the terminal, and the A-IoT policy change decision being used to change the policy of the A-IoT, the terminal sends the policy to the A-IoT; in the case where the fourth network element sends the policy to the A-IoT, the A-IoT receives the policy and updates the policy based on the policy; in the case where the terminal sends the policy to the A-IoT, the A-IoT receives the policy and updates the policy based on the policy.

[0014] According to a ninth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, an AF is proposed, including: a transceiver module, configured to send first information to a first network element, wherein the first information is used to change a policy related to an ambient Internet of Things device A-IoT.

[0015] According to the tenth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a first network element is proposed, which includes: a transceiver module, used to send first information to the first network element, and the first information is used to change a policy related to an environmental Internet of Things device A-IoT.

[0016] According to the eleventh aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a second network element is proposed, and the second network element includes: a transceiver module for receiving second information sent by the first network element, wherein the second information is obtained by mapping the first information from external information to internal information, and the second information is used to determine the policy change decision of the environmental Internet of Things device A-IoT, and the first information is used to change the policy related to the environmental Internet of Things device A-IoT; a processing module for storing the second information.

[0017] According to the twelfth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a third network element is proposed, and the third network element includes: a transceiver module, used to receive a first message sent by a second network element, the first message is triggered by the situation that the third network element subscribes to the second information, and the first message is used to notify that the second information has changed; the third network element determines the A-IoT policy change decision of the environmental Internet of Things device based on the changed second information, and the A-IoT policy change decision is used to change the policy of the terminal and / or change the policy of the A-IoT. The A-IoT policy change decision is determined based on the second information, and the second information is obtained by mapping the first information from external information to internal information, and the first information is used to change the policy related to the environmental Internet of Things device A-IoT.

[0018] According to the thirteenth aspect of the embodiment of the present disclosure, a fourth network element is proposed, and the fourth network element includes: a transceiver module, used to receive a policy sent by a third network element, and send the policy to the environmental Internet of Things device A-IoT, or send the policy to the terminal; wherein, the policy is determined based on the A-IoT policy change decision, and the A-IoT policy change decision is triggered and determined by the situation where the third network element subscribes to the second information, and the A-IoT policy change decision is used to change the policy of the terminal and / or change the policy of the A-IoT, and the second information is the first information obtained by mapping the external information to the internal information, and the first information is used for A-IoT-related policies.

[0019] According to the fourteenth aspect of the embodiment of the present disclosure, a terminal is proposed, which includes: a transceiver module for receiving a policy sent by a third network element, and sending the policy to the A-IoT, or sending the policy to the terminal; wherein the policy is determined based on the A-IoT policy change decision of the environmental Internet of Things device, and the A-IoT policy change decision is triggered and determined by the situation where the third network element subscribes to the second information. The A-IoT policy change decision is used to change the policy of the terminal and / or change the policy of the A-IoT. The second information is obtained by mapping the first information from external information to internal information, and the first information is used to change the A-IoT-related policy.

[0020] According to the fifteenth aspect of the embodiment of the present disclosure, an A-IoT device is proposed, including: a transceiver module for receiving an A-IoT policy sent by a fourth network element, or a policy sent by a receiving terminal; a processing module for updating a policy based on the policy, wherein the policy is determined based on an A-IoT policy change decision, the A-IoT policy change decision is triggered and determined when the third network element subscribes to second information, the A-IoT policy change decision is used to change the policy of the terminal, and / or change the policy of the A-IoT, the second information is obtained by mapping the first information from external information to internal information, and the first information is used to change A-IoT-related policies.

[0021] According to a sixteenth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, an AF is proposed, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the AF is used to execute the first aspect and any one of the communication methods in the first aspect.

[0022] According to the seventeenth aspect of the embodiment of the present disclosure, a first network element is proposed, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the first network element is used to execute the second aspect and any one of the communication methods in the second aspect.

[0023] According to the eighteenth aspect of the embodiment of the present disclosure, a second network element is proposed, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the second network element is used to execute the third aspect and any one of the communication methods in the third aspect.

[0024] According to the nineteenth aspect of the embodiment of the present disclosure, a third network element is proposed, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the third network element is used to execute the fourth aspect and any one of the communication methods in the fourth aspect.

[0025] According to the twentieth aspect of the embodiment of the present disclosure, a fourth network element is proposed, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the fourth network element is used to execute the fifth aspect and any one of the communication methods in the fifth aspect.

[0026] According to the twenty-first aspect of the embodiment of the present disclosure, a terminal is proposed, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the terminal is used to execute the sixth aspect and any one of the communication methods in the sixth aspect.

[0027] According to the twenty-second aspect of the embodiment of the present disclosure, an A-IoT device is proposed, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the terminal is used to execute the seventh aspect and any one of the communication methods in the seventh aspect.

[0028] According to the twenty-third aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication system is proposed, including an AF, a first network element, a second network element, a third network element, a fourth network element, a terminal and an A-IoT, wherein the AF is used to execute the first aspect and any one of the communication methods in the first aspect, the first network element is used to execute the second aspect and any one of the communication methods in the second aspect, the second network element is used to execute the third aspect and any one of the communication methods in the third aspect, the third network element is used to execute the fourth aspect and any one of the communication methods in the fourth aspect, the fourth network element is used to execute the fifth aspect and any one of the communication methods in the fifth aspect, the terminal is used to execute the sixth aspect and any one of the communication methods in the sixth aspect, and the A-IoT is used to execute the seventh aspect and any one of the communication methods in the seventh aspect.

[0029] According to the twenty-fourth aspect of the embodiment of the present disclosure, a storage medium is proposed, which stores instructions. When the instructions are executed on a communication device, the communication device executes the communication method of the first aspect and any one of the first aspects, or executes the communication method of the second aspect and any one of the second aspects, or executes the communication method of the third aspect and any one of the third aspects, or executes the communication method of the fourth aspect and any one of the sixth aspects or the terminal is used to execute the communication method of the sixth aspect and any one of the sixth aspects, or executes the communication method of the seventh aspect and any one of the seventh aspects.

[0030] The present disclosure sends the first information through AF, and uses the first information to instruct the A-IoT-related policy change, thereby achieving the change of the A-IoT policy. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the following drawings required for describing the embodiments are introduced. The following drawings are merely some embodiments of the present disclosure and do not impose specific limitations on the protection scope of the present disclosure.

[0032] FIG1A is a schematic diagram showing a communication system architecture according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0033] FIG1B is a schematic diagram of a connection topology structure related to A-IoT according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0034] FIG1C is a schematic diagram of a connection topology structure related to A-IoT according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0035] FIG1D is a schematic diagram of an A-IoT-related inventory interaction shown in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0036] FIG2 is a schematic diagram showing an interaction of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0037] FIG3A is a flow chart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0038] FIG3B is a flow chart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0039] FIG3C is a flow chart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0040] FIG4A is a flow chart showing a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0041] FIG4B is a flow chart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0042] FIG4C is a flow chart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0043] FIG5A is a flow chart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0044] FIG5B is a flow chart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0045] FIG5C is a flow chart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0046] FIG6A is a flow chart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0047] FIG6B is a flow chart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0048] FIG6C is a flow chart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0049] FIG7A is a flow chart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0050] FIG7B is a flow chart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0051] FIG7C is a flow chart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0052] FIG8A is a flow chart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0053] FIG8B is a flow chart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0054] FIG8C is a flow chart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0055] FIG9A is a flow chart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0056] FIG9B is a flow chart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0057] FIG9C is a flow chart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0058] FIG10 is an interactive schematic diagram illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0059] FIG11A is a flow chart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0060] FIG11B is a flow chart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0061] FIG12A is a schematic diagram of the structure of the AF proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0062] FIG12B is a schematic structural diagram of the first network element proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0063] FIG12C is a schematic structural diagram of the first network element proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0064] FIG12D is a schematic structural diagram of a third network element proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0065] FIG12E is a schematic structural diagram of the fourth network element proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0066] FIG12F is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0067] FIG12G is a schematic diagram of the structure of the A-IoT proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0068] FIG. 13A is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0069] FIG13B is a schematic structural diagram of a chip 13200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0070] The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication method, a terminal, an A-IoT device, and a storage medium.

[0071] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a communication method, which includes: an application function AF sends first information to a first network element, where the first information is used to change a policy related to an ambient Internet of Things device A-IoT.

[0072] In some optional embodiments of the first aspect, the first information is used to perform at least one of the following policy changes: adding a policy; updating a policy; deleting a policy.

[0073] In some optional embodiments of the first aspect, the first information includes at least one of the following: AF identifier; device information; policy identifier; policy content information; application layer message.

[0074] In some optional embodiments of the first aspect, the method also includes: the AF receives a first response message of the first information sent by the first network element, the first response message is used to identify the result of the change processing of the first information by the first network element, and the change processing includes at least one of the following: authorizing the first information; when the first information includes external information, mapping the external information to internal information to obtain second information, and sending the second information to the second network element so that the second network element stores the second information.

[0075] In some optional embodiments of the first aspect, the method further includes: the AF receiving a second response message sent by the first network element, the second response message being used to identify the result of the terminal performing an A-IoT-related policy change, and / or being used to identify the result of the A-IoT performing an A-IoT-related policy change.

[0076] The second response information includes at least one of the following: A-IoT policy change result; result of the terminal performing the A-IoT policy change; reason for failure of the A-IoT policy change; reason for failure of the terminal performing the A-IoT policy change; device information.

[0077] According to a second aspect, a communication method is provided, comprising: a first network element receiving first information sent by an application function AF, wherein the first information is used to change a policy related to an environmental Internet of Things device A-IoT.

[0078] In some optional embodiments of the second aspect, the first information is used to perform at least one of the following policy changes: adding a policy; updating a policy; deleting a policy.

[0079] In some optional embodiments of the second aspect, the first information includes at least one of the following: AF identifier; device information; policy identifier; policy content information; application layer message.

[0080] In some optional embodiments of the second aspect, the method also includes: authorizing the first information, and when the first information includes external information, mapping the external information into internal information to obtain second information; sending the second information to the second network element so that the second network element stores the second information.

[0081] In some optional embodiments of the second aspect, the method also includes: sending a first response message of the first information to the AF, the first response message being used to identify a result of the first network element performing change processing on the first information, the change processing including at least one of the following: authorizing the first information; in the case where the first information includes external information, mapping the external information to internal information to obtain second information, and interacting with the second network element so that the second network element stores the second information.

[0082] In some optional embodiments of the second aspect, the method further includes: receiving a third response message sent by a third network element, wherein the third response message is used to identify the result of the terminal performing an A-IoT-related policy change, and / or to identify the result of the A-IoT performing an A-IoT-related policy change.

[0083] In some optional embodiments of the second aspect, the method further includes: sending a second response message to the AF, wherein the second response message is used to identify the result of the terminal performing an A-IoT-related policy change, and / or to identify the result of the A-IoT performing an A-IoT-related policy change.

[0084] In some optional embodiments of the second aspect, when the second response message includes external device information, the method also includes: the first network element maps internal information to external information, the internal information includes at least one of the following: device information; policy identifier; the external information includes at least one of the following: external device information; external policy identifier.

[0085] According to a third aspect, a communication method is provided, comprising: receiving second information sent by a first network element and storing the second information, wherein the second information is obtained by mapping the first information from external information to internal information, the second information is used to determine an A-IoT policy change decision, and the first information is used to change policies related to the A-IoT of environmental Internet of Things devices.

[0086] In some optional embodiments of the third aspect, the method also includes: when the third network element subscribes to the second information, sending a first message to the third network element to notify that the second information has changed, so that the third network element determines an A-IoT policy change decision, and the A-IoT policy change decision is used to determine a policy for sending changes to the A-IoT, or to determine a policy for sending changes to the terminal, and the policy is determined based on the second information.

[0087] In a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided, the method comprising: a third network element receives a first message sent by a second network element, the first message is triggered by the situation where the third network element subscribes to the second information, and the first message is used to notify that the second information has changed; the third network element determines an A-IoT policy change decision for an environmental Internet of Things device based on the changed second information, the A-IoT policy change decision is used to determine a change in the policy of the terminal, and / or a change in the policy of the A-IoT, the policy is determined based on the second information, the second information is obtained by mapping the first information from external information to internal information, and the first information is used to change policies related to the environmental Internet of Things device A-IoT.

[0088] In some optional embodiments of the fourth aspect, the method further includes: sending a policy to a fourth network element, where the policy is determined based on the A-IoT policy change decision.

[0089] In some optional embodiments of the fourth aspect, the method further includes: receiving a fourth response message sent by a fourth network element, wherein the fourth response message is used to identify the result of the terminal performing an A-IoT-related policy change, and / or to identify the result of the A-IoT performing an A-IoT-related policy change.

[0090] In some optional embodiments of the fourth aspect, the method further includes: sending a third response message to the first network element, wherein the third response message is used to identify the result of the terminal performing an A-IoT-related policy change, and / or to identify the result of the A-IoT performing an A-IoT-related policy change.

[0091] In a fifth aspect, a communication method is provided, the method comprising: a fourth network element receives a policy sent by a third network element; the fourth network element sends the policy to A-IoT, or sends the policy to a terminal; wherein the policy is determined based on an A-IoT policy change decision, and the A-IoT policy change decision is triggered and determined by the third network element subscribing to second information, the second information is obtained by mapping the first information from external information to internal information, and the first information is used to change the policy related to the environmental Internet of Things device A-IoT.

[0092] In some optional embodiments of the fifth aspect, the method further includes: receiving a first confirmation message sent by the A-IoT, the first confirmation message being used to identify the confirmation of the result of the A-IoT performing the A-IoT-related policy change; and sending a fourth response message to the third network element, the fourth response message being used to identify the result of the terminal performing the A-IoT-related policy change, and / or being used to identify the result of the A-IoT performing the A-IoT-related policy change.

[0093] In some optional embodiments of the fifth aspect, the method further includes: receiving second confirmation information sent by the terminal, the second confirmation information being used to identify confirmation of the result of the terminal performing an A-IoT-related policy change; and sending a fourth response message to the third network element, the fourth response message being used to identify the result of the terminal performing an A-IoT-related policy change, and / or being used to identify the result of the A-IoT performing an A-IoT-related policy change.

[0094] In a sixth aspect, a communication method is provided, the method comprising: a terminal receives a policy sent by a fourth network element, wherein the policy is determined based on an A-IoT policy change decision of an environmental Internet of Things device, the A-IoT policy change decision is triggered and determined by a situation in which a third network element subscribes to second information, the A-IoT policy change decision is used to change the policy of the terminal, and / or change the policy of the A-IoT, the second information is obtained by mapping the first information from external information to internal information, and the first information is used to change A-IoT-related policies.

[0095] In some optional embodiments of the sixth aspect, the method further includes: updating the policy of the terminal to the policy sent by the fourth network element, where the policy of the terminal is a policy related to the terminal and the A-IoT.

[0096] In some optional embodiments of the sixth aspect, the method further comprises at least one of the following:

[0097] In response to the A-IoT policy change decision being used to change the policy of the A-IoT, sending the policy sent by the fourth network element to the A-IoT;

[0098] In response to the A-IoT policy change decision being used to change the policy of the terminal, and the A-IoT policy change decision being used to change the policy of the A-IoT, the policy sent by the fourth network element is sent to the A-IoT.

[0099] In some optional embodiments of the sixth aspect, the method further includes: receiving third confirmation information sent by the A-IoT device, wherein the third confirmation information is used to indicate confirmation of the result of the A-IoT performing the A-IoT-related policy change.

[0100] In some optional embodiments of the sixth aspect, the method further includes: sending second confirmation information to the fourth network element, where the second confirmation information is used to identify the confirmation of the result of the terminal performing an A-IoT-related policy change.

[0101] In the seventh aspect, a communication method is provided, the method including: an A-IoT device receives an A-IoT policy sent by a fourth network element, or receives a policy sent by a terminal; and updates the policy based on the policy; wherein the A-IoT policy change decision is used to change the policy of the terminal, and / or change the policy of the A-IoT, the second information is obtained by mapping the first information from external information to internal information, and the first information is used to change the A-IoT-related policy.

[0102] In some optional embodiments of the seventh aspect, when the A-IoT device receives the A-IoT policy sent by the fourth network element to the A-IoT through the access network, the method further includes: sending a first confirmation message to the fourth network element, wherein the first confirmation message is used to identify the confirmation of the result of the A-IoT-related policy change performed by the A-IoT.

[0103] In some optional embodiments of the seventh aspect, in the case of the policy sent by the receiving terminal, the method further includes: sending a third confirmation message to the terminal, and the third confirmation message is used to indicate the confirmation of the result of the A-IoT performing the A-IoT-related policy change.

[0104] In an eighth aspect, a communication method is provided, the method comprising: an application function AF sends first information to a first network element, the first information being used to change a policy related to an environmental Internet of Things device A-IoT; the first network element receives the first information sent by the application function AF; the first network element authorizes the first information, and when the first information includes external information, maps the external information to internal information to obtain second information, the second information being used to determine an A-IoT policy change decision, and sends the second information to a second network element; the second network element receives and stores the second information; when a third network element subscribes to the second information, the second network element sends a first message to the third network element, and is used to notify the third network element that the second information has changed, so that the third network element determines the environmental Internet of Things device A-IoT policy change decision based on the second information, and the A-IoT policy change decision is used to change the policy of the terminal, and / or change the A -IoT's policy; the third network element sends the policy to the fourth network element; the fourth network element receives the policy and sends the policy to the A-IoT, or sends the policy to the terminal; in the case where the fourth network element sends the policy to the terminal, the terminal receives the policy, and in response to the A-IoT policy change decision being used to change the policy of the A-IoT, the terminal sends the policy to the A-IoT; in response to the A-IoT policy change decision being used to change the policy of the terminal, and the A-IoT policy change decision being used to change the policy of the A-IoT, the terminal sends the policy to the A-IoT; in the case where the fourth network element sends the policy to the A-IoT, the A-IoT receives the policy and updates the policy based on the policy; in the case where the terminal sends the policy to the A-IoT, the A-IoT receives the policy and updates the policy based on the policy.

[0105] In the ninth aspect, an AF is provided, including: a transceiver module, used to send first information to a first network element, wherein the first information is used to change a policy related to an environmental Internet of Things device A-IoT.

[0106] In a tenth aspect, a first network element is provided, the first network element including: a transceiver module for sending first information to the first network element, wherein the first information is used to change a policy related to an environmental Internet of Things device A-IoT.

[0107] In the eleventh aspect, a second network element is provided, and the second network element includes: a transceiver module for receiving second information sent by the first network element, wherein the second information is obtained by mapping the first information from external information to internal information, and the second information is used to determine the A-IoT policy change decision, and the first information is used to change the policy related to the environmental Internet of Things device A-IoT; a processing module for storing the second information.

[0108] In the twelfth aspect, a third network element is provided, and the third network element includes: a transceiver module, used to receive a first message sent by a second network element, the first message is triggered by the situation that the third network element subscribes to the second information, and the first message is used to notify that the second information has changed; the third network element determines the A-IoT policy change decision of the environmental Internet of Things device based on the changed second information, and the A-IoT policy change decision is used to change the policy of the terminal and / or change the policy of the A-IoT. The A-IoT policy change decision is determined based on the second information, and the second information is obtained by mapping the first information from external information to internal information, and the first information is used to change the policy related to the environmental Internet of Things device A-IoT.

[0109] In the thirteenth aspect, a fourth network element is provided, and the fourth network element includes: a transceiver module, used to receive the policy sent by the third network element, and send the policy to the environmental Internet of Things device A-IoT, or send the policy to the terminal; wherein, the policy is determined based on the A-IoT policy change decision, and the A-IoT policy change decision is triggered and determined by the situation where the third network element subscribes to the second information, and the A-IoT policy change decision is used to change the policy of the terminal, and / or change the policy of the A-IoT, and the second information is the first information obtained by mapping the external information to the internal information, and the first information is used for A-IoT-related policies.

[0110] In the fourteenth aspect, a terminal is provided, which includes: a transceiver module for receiving a policy sent by a third network element, and sending the policy to the A-IoT, or sending the policy to the terminal; wherein the policy is determined based on the A-IoT policy change decision of the environmental Internet of Things device, and the A-IoT policy change decision is triggered and determined by the situation where the third network element subscribes to the second information, and the A-IoT policy change decision is used to change the policy of the terminal and / or change the policy of the A-IoT, and the second information is the first information obtained by mapping external information to internal information, and the first information is used to change the A-IoT-related policy.

[0111] In the fifteenth aspect, an A-IoT device is provided, including: a transceiver module for receiving an A-IoT policy sent by a fourth network element, or a policy sent by a receiving terminal; a processing module for updating a policy based on the policy, wherein the policy is determined based on an A-IoT policy change decision, and the A-IoT policy change decision is triggered and determined when the third network element subscribes to the second information, and the A-IoT policy change decision is used to change the policy of the terminal and / or change the policy of the A-IoT, and the second information is the first information obtained by mapping external information to internal information, and the first information is used to change A-IoT-related policies.

[0112] In the sixteenth aspect, an AF is proposed, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the AF is used to execute the first aspect and any one of the communication methods in the first aspect.

[0113] In the seventeenth aspect, a first network element is proposed, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the first network element is used to execute the second aspect and any one of the communication methods in the second aspect.

[0114] In the eighteenth aspect, a second network element is proposed, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the second network element is used to execute the third aspect and any one of the communication methods in the third aspect.

[0115] In the nineteenth aspect, a third network element is proposed, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the third network element is used to execute the fourth aspect and any one of the communication methods in the fourth aspect.

[0116] In the twentieth aspect, a fourth network element is proposed, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the fourth network element is used to execute the fifth aspect and any one of the communication methods in the fifth aspect.

[0117] In the twenty-first aspect, a terminal is proposed, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the terminal is used to execute the sixth aspect and any one of the communication methods in the sixth aspect.

[0118] In the twenty-second aspect, an A-IoT device is proposed, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the terminal is used to execute the seventh aspect and any one of the communication methods in the seventh aspect.

[0119] In the twenty-third aspect, a storage medium is provided, which stores instructions. When the instructions are executed on a communication device, the communication device executes the communication method of the first aspect and any one of the first aspects, or executes the communication method of the second aspect and any one of the second aspects, or executes the communication method of the third aspect and any one of the third aspects, or executes the communication method of the fourth aspect and any one of the sixth aspects or the terminal is used to execute the communication method of the sixth aspect and any one of the sixth aspects, or executes the communication method of the seventh aspect and any one of the seventh aspects.

[0120] In aspect 24, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a program product. When the program product is executed by a communication device, the communication device executes the communication method of the first aspect and any one of the first aspects, or executes the communication method of the second aspect and any one of the second aspects, or executes the communication method of the third aspect and any one of the third aspects, or executes the communication method of the fourth aspect and any one of the sixth aspects or the terminal is used to execute the communication method of the sixth aspect and any one of the sixth aspects, or executes the communication method of the seventh aspect and any one of the seventh aspects.

[0121] In a twenty-fifth aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a computer program that, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to execute, for example, the communication method described in the first aspect and any one of the first aspects, or the communication method described in the second aspect and any one of the second aspects, or the communication method described in the third aspect and any one of the third aspects, or the communication method described in the fourth aspect and any one of the sixth aspects, or the communication method described in the seventh aspect and any one of the seventh aspects.

[0122] In a sixteenth aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a chip or chip system. The chip or chip system includes a processing circuit configured to execute, for example, the communication method described in the first aspect and any one of the first aspects, or the communication method described in the second aspect and any one of the second aspects, or the communication method described in the third aspect and any one of the third aspects, or the communication method described in the fourth aspect and any one of the sixth aspects or the sixth aspect, or the communication method described in the seventh aspect and any one of the seventh aspects.

[0123] It is understood that the terminals, A-IoT devices, network elements, core network devices, communication systems, storage media, program products, computer programs, chips, or chip systems involved in each embodiment of the present disclosure are all used to perform the methods proposed in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Therefore, the beneficial effects that can be achieved can refer to the beneficial effects of the corresponding methods and will not be repeated here.

[0124] The present disclosure provides communication methods, devices, equipment, and storage media. In some embodiments, the terms "communication method," "information processing method," and "communication method" are interchangeable; the terms "communication device," "information processing device," and "communication device" are interchangeable; and the terms "information processing system," "communication system," and "communication system" are interchangeable.

[0125] The embodiments of the present disclosure are not exhaustive and are merely illustrative of some embodiments, and are not intended to be a specific limitation on the scope of protection of the present disclosure. In the absence of contradiction, each step in a certain embodiment can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the steps can be arbitrarily combined. For example, a solution after removing some steps in a certain embodiment can also be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the order of the steps in a certain embodiment can be arbitrarily exchanged. In addition, the optional implementation methods in a certain embodiment can be arbitrarily combined; in addition, the embodiments can be arbitrarily combined. For example, some or all steps of different embodiments can be arbitrarily combined, and a certain embodiment can be arbitrarily combined with the optional implementation methods of other embodiments.

[0126] In each embodiment of the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified or provided for, the terms and / or descriptions between the embodiments are consistent and may be referenced by each other. The technical environments in different embodiments may be combined to form new embodiments based on their inherent logical relationships.

[0127] The terms used in the embodiments of the present disclosure are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present disclosure.

[0128] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified, elements expressed in the singular, such as "a", "an", "the", "above", "said", "the", "the", etc., may mean "one and only one", or "one or more", "at least one", etc. For example, when using articles such as "a", "an", "the" in English in translation, the noun following the article may be understood as a singular expression or a plural expression.

[0129] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, “plurality” refers to two or more.

[0130] In some embodiments, the terms "at least one," "one or more," "a plurality of," "multiple," etc. may be used interchangeably.

[0131] In some embodiments, descriptions such as "at least one of A and B," "A and / or B," "A in one case, B in another case," or "in response to one case A, in response to another case B" may include the following technical solutions depending on the situation: in some embodiments, A (A is executed independently of B); in some embodiments, B (B is executed independently of A); in some embodiments, execution is selected from A and B (A and B are selectively executed); and in some embodiments, A and B (both A and B are executed). The above is also applicable when there are more branches such as A, B, and C.

[0132] In some embodiments, "A or B" and other descriptions may include the following technical solutions depending on the situation: in some embodiments, A (A is executed independently of B); in some embodiments, B (B is executed independently of A); in some embodiments, execution is selected from A and B (A and B are selectively executed). The above is also applicable when there are more branches such as A, B, C, etc.

[0133] The prefixes such as "first" and "second" in the embodiments of the present disclosure are only used to distinguish different description objects and do not constitute any restriction on the position, order, priority, quantity or content of the description objects. For the statement of the description object, please refer to the description in the context of the claims or embodiments, and no unnecessary restriction should be constituted due to the use of prefixes. For example, if the description object is a "field", the ordinal number before the "field" in the "first field" and the "second field" does not limit the position or order between the "fields". "First" and "second" do not limit whether the "fields" they modify are in the same message, nor do they limit the order of the "first field" and the "second field". For another example, if the description object is a "level", the ordinal number before the "level" in the "first level" and the "second level" does not limit the priority between the "levels". For another example, the number of description objects is not limited by the ordinal number and can be one or more. Taking "first device" as an example, the number of "devices" can be one or more. In addition, the objects modified by different prefixes can be the same or different. For example, if the description object is "device", then the "first device" and the "second device" can be the same device or different devices, and their types can be the same or different; for example, if the description object is "information", then the "first information" and "the performance of each AI model" can be the same information or different information, and their contents can be the same or different.

[0134] In some embodiments, “including A,” “comprising A,” “used to indicate A,” and “carrying A” can be interpreted as directly carrying A or indirectly indicating A.

[0135] In some embodiments, terms such as "in response to...", "in response to determining...", "in the case of...", "at the time of...", "when...", "if...", "if...", etc. can be used interchangeably.

[0136] In some embodiments, terms such as "greater than", "greater than or equal to", "not less than", "more than", "more than or equal to", "not less than", "higher than", "higher than or equal to", "not less than", and "above" can be replaced with each other, and terms such as "less than", "less than or equal to", "not greater than", "less than", "less than or equal to", "not more than", "lower than", "lower than or equal to", "not higher than", and "below" can be replaced with each other.

[0137] In some embodiments, devices and equipment can be interpreted as physical or virtual, and their names are not limited to the names recorded in the embodiments. In some cases, they can also be understood as "equipment", "device", "circuit", "network element", "node", "function", "unit", "section", "system", "network", "chip", "chip system", "entity", "subject", etc.

[0138] In some embodiments, "network" can be interpreted as devices included in the network, such as access network equipment, core network equipment, etc.

[0139] In some embodiments, "access network device (AN device)" may also be referred to as "radio access network device (RAN device)", "base station (BS)", "radio base station", "fixed station", and in some embodiments may also be understood as "node", "access point", "transmission point (TP)", "reception point (RP)", "transmission and / or reception point (TRP)" "panel", "antenna panel", "antenna array", "cell", "macro cell", "small cell", "femto cell", "pico cell", "sector", "cell group", "serving cell", "carrier", "component carrier", "bandwidth part (BWP)", etc.

[0140] In some embodiments, "terminal" or "terminal device" may be referred to as "user equipment (UE)", "user terminal" "mobile station (MS)", "mobile terminal (MT)", subscriber station, mobile unit, subscriber unit, wireless unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile subscriber station, access terminal, mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, handset, user agent, mobile client, client, etc.

[0141] In some embodiments, obtaining data, information, etc. may comply with the laws and regulations of the country where the data is obtained.

[0142] In some embodiments, data, information, etc. may be obtained with the user's consent.

[0143] In addition, each element, each row, or each column in the table of the embodiment of the present disclosure can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the combination of any elements, any rows, and any columns can also be implemented as an independent embodiment.

[0144] FIG1A is a schematic diagram showing a communication system architecture according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0145] [Corrected 06.05.2024 according to Rule 91] As shown in Figure 1A, the communication system 100 includes an application function (AF) 101, an ambient Internet of Things controller (A-IoT Controller) 102, a terminal 103 and an ambient Internet of Things device (A-IoT) 104.

[0146] In some embodiments, the A-IoT Controller 102 may include an access network device and / or a core network device.

[0147] In some embodiments, the access network device is, for example, a node or device that accesses a terminal to a wireless network. The access network device may include an evolved NodeB (eNB), a next generation evolved NodeB (ng-eNB), a next generation NodeB (gNB), a node B (NB), a home node B (HNB), a home evolved nodeB (HeNB), a wireless backhaul device, a radio network controller (RNC), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a base band unit (BBU), a mobile switching center, a base station in a 6G communication system, an open base station (Open RAN), a cloud base station (Cloud RAN), a base station in other communication systems, and at least one of an access node in a Wi-Fi system, but is not limited thereto.

[0148] In some embodiments, the technical solution of the present disclosure can be applied to the Open RAN architecture. In this case, the interfaces between or within the access network devices involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure can be transformed into internal interfaces of the Open RAN, and the processes and information interactions between these internal interfaces can be implemented through software or programs.

[0149] In some embodiments, the access network device can be composed of a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU), where the CU can also be called a control unit. The CU-DU structure can be used to split the protocol layer of the access network device, with the functions of some protocol layers centrally controlled by the CU, and the functions of the remaining part or all of the protocol layers distributed in the DU, which is centrally controlled by the CU, but is not limited to this.

[0150] In some embodiments, a core network device may be a device including one or more network elements, or may be multiple devices or device groups, each including all or part of the one or more network elements. The network element may be virtual or physical. The core network may include, for example, at least one of an Evolved Packet Core (EPC), a 5G Core Network (5GCN), and a Next Generation Core (NGC).

[0151] In some embodiments, the core network device may, for example, include at least one of the following network elements: a network element function entity (NEF), a user data repository entity (UDR), a policy control function entity (PCF), an access and mobility management function (AMF), etc.

[0152] In some embodiments, the terminal 103 includes, for example, a mobile phone, a wearable device, an Internet of Things device, a car with communication function, a smart car, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal device in industrial control, a wireless terminal device in self-driving, a wireless terminal device in remote medical surgery, a wireless terminal device in a smart grid, a wireless terminal device in transportation safety, a wireless terminal device in a smart city, and at least one of a wireless terminal device in a smart home, but is not limited thereto.

[0153] In some embodiments, the A-IoT 104 may also be referred to as an A-IoT device 104 or an A-IoT terminal 104. The A-IoT device 104 includes, for example, at least one of the following: an A-IoT user equipment (UE), an A-IoT device, and an A-IoT-enabled device represented by an A-IoT tag.

[0154] It can be understood that the communication system described in the embodiment of the present disclosure is for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solution of the embodiment of the present disclosure, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solution proposed in the embodiment of the present disclosure. Ordinary technicians in this field can know that with the evolution of the system architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solution proposed in the embodiment of the present disclosure is also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0155] The following embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to the communication system 100 shown in FIG1A , or a portion thereof, but are not limited thereto. The entities shown in FIG1A are illustrative only. The communication system may include all or part of the entities shown in FIG1A , or may include other entities other than those shown in FIG1A . The number and form of the entities may be arbitrary, and the entities may be physical or virtual. The connection relationships between the entities are illustrative only. The entities may be connected or disconnected, and the connection may be in any manner, including direct or indirect, wired or wireless.

[0156] The embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), LTE-Beyond (LTE-B), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4th generation mobile communication system (4G), 5th generation mobile communication system (5G), 5G new radio (NR), future radio access (FRA), new radio access technology (RAT), new radio (NR), new radio access (NX), future generation radio access (FX), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM (registered trademark)), CDMA2000, Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.20, Ultra-WideBand (UWB), Bluetooth (registered trademark), Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) networks, Device-to-Device (D2D) systems, Machine-to-Machine (M2M) systems, Internet of Things (IoT) systems, Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X), systems utilizing other communication methods, and next-generation systems based on and extending these methods. Furthermore, multiple systems may be combined (for example, a combination of LTE or LTE-A with 5G).

[0157] Ambient IoT devices are IoT devices powered by energy harvesting technology, and their energy storage capabilities are relatively limited. The relevant characteristics of ambient IoT devices are defined in relevant protocols (including, for example, TR38.769[8]).

[0158] The triggering of an A-IoT device may generally include: device-terminated (DT), or device-originated-device-terminated triggered (DO-DTT).

[0159] In some embodiments, DO-DTT is triggered by an access network device or terminal as a reader, while the core network device (CN) does not trigger the A-IoT device.

[0160] In some embodiments, A-IoT-related connectivity topologies generally include the following two examples, FIG. 1B and FIG. 1C .

[0161] [Corrected 06.05.2024 in accordance with Rule 91] Figure 1B is a schematic diagram of a connection topology related to A-IoT according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 1B, in this topology, the A-IoT directly communicates bidirectionally with a base station (BS). The communication between the base station and the A-IoT includes ambient IoT data and / or signaling. This topology includes the possibility that the information sent by the BS to the A-IoT may be different from the information received by the BS from the A-IoT.

[0162] Figure 1C is a schematic diagram of the connection topology structure related to A-IoT according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 1C, in this topology, A-IoT is connected to an intermediate node, and the two communicate uplink or downlink. The intermediate node is connected to the A-IoT device, and the two communicate uplink or downlink. The base station and the A-IoT device do not directly communicate uplink or downlink. Among them, the intermediate node can be, for example, a relay, an integrated access and backhaul node (IAB Node), a UE or a repeater, and other devices with A-IoT capabilities.

[0163] It should be noted that for ease of understanding, the relevant terms in the following embodiments need to be explained, including, for example:

[0164] [Corrected 06 / 05 / 2024 in accordance with Rule 91] "Inventory taking": In IoT systems, this process is typically accomplished using sensors, radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, or other wireless communication technologies. These technologies can help automatically identify and track items, thereby improving the accuracy and efficiency of inventory taking. The purpose of inventory taking is to ensure that recorded inventory levels match actual inventory levels and to promptly identify missing, damaged, or excess items (including, for example, IoT devices). In some embodiments, "inventory taking" may also be referred to as "taking inventory."

[0165] "Inventory": In an IoT system, inventory refers to the IoT devices that exist in the system.

[0166] Figure 1D is a schematic diagram of an A-IoT-related inventory procedure interaction shown in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 1D, an A-IoT-related inventory procedure is disclosed, including the following steps.

[0167] [Corrected 06.05.2024 according to Rule 91] In step S1101, the AF sends an inventory request to the A-IoT controller (A-IoT Controller).

[0168] In some embodiments, the inventory request sent by the AF to the A-IoT Controller may include at least one of the following items 1) to 3):

[0169] 1) Use filter criteria to restrict the inventory so that the A-IoT devices in the inventory meet the restriction requirements of the policy;

[0170] 2) Reader identification (ID), used to limit the A-IoT devices in the inventory by the reader ID;

[0171] [Corrected 06.05.2024 according to Rule 91] 3) Periodic value, used to request periodic inventory based on periodic value.

[0172] [Corrected 06.05.2024 according to Rule 91] In step S1102, the A-IoT Controller authorizes the request of the AF.

[0173] In some embodiments, after receiving a request (i.e., an inventory request) from the AF, the A-IoT Controller verifies whether the AF has the authority to issue the request based on the request. For example, when processing an inventory request, the A-IoT Controller checks whether the AF has the authority to send the inventory request based on a specific policy or without any filtering policy (and without providing a reader ID).

[0174] In step S1103 , the A-IoT Controller sends an inventory request to the reader.

[0175] In some embodiments, the A-IoT Controller sends an inventory request (an authorized inventory request sent by the AF) to the corresponding reader based on the reader's ID, which includes screening policies and periodic information.

[0176] In step S1104 , the reader sends an inventory request to the A-IoT device.

[0177] [Corrected 06.05.2024 according to Rule 91] In some embodiments, a reader may perform an inventory based on a filtering policy in an inventory request received from an A-IoT Controller. For example, if the filtering policy includes a periodic value, the reader may perform an inventory periodically or a one-time inventory.

[0178] In step S1105 , the A-IoT device sends the inventory result to the reader.

[0179] In some embodiments, one or more A-IoT devices respond to the inventory request sent by the reader and issue corresponding inventory results, where the inventory results include, for example, the ID of the A-IoT device.

[0180] In step S1106 , the reader sends the inventory result to the A-IoT Controller.

[0181] In some embodiments, the reader obtains the inventory result (including, for example, the ID of the A-IoT device) and sends the inventory result to the A-IoT Controller.

[0182] Optionally, the reader can selectively send additional relevant information to the A-IoT Controller along with the inventory results, such as the reader's ID, the A-IoT device's ID, and enrichment data.

[0183] In step S1107 , the A-IoT Controller stores the inventory result.

[0184] In some embodiments, for each inventory result reported by a reader (including, for example, the A-IoT device ID mentioned in the inventory result), the A-IoT Controller stores the reader ID that reported the inventory result along with the corresponding timestamp. The timestamp enables the A-IoT Controller to purge outdated last-known reader information (ensuring the timeliness of reported inventory results).

[0185] In step S1108 , the A-IoT Controller sends the inventory result to the AF.

[0186] In some embodiments, the A-IoT Controller sends the inventory results to the AF.

[0187] Optionally, the reader can selectively send additional relevant information to the A-IoT Controller along with the inventory results, such as the reader's ID, the A-IoT device's ID, and enriched data.

[0188] However, in some embodiments, the screening strategy may involve updating. However, there is no mention in the related art of how to update the screening strategy.

[0189] Based on this, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a communication method for updating a screening strategy.

[0190] FIG2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an interaction of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG2 , the present disclosure embodiment relates to a communication method for use in a communication system 100, the method comprising:

[0191] Step S2101: AF 101 sends first information to the first network element 102.

[0192] In some embodiments, the first network element 102 receives the first information sent by the AF 101. The first information is used to change the A-IoT-related policy.

[0193] It should be noted that AF 101 and other network elements (including, for example, first network element 102, second network element 107, third network element 108, and fourth network element 105) may belong to the same core network device. The first information sent by AF 101 may be internal information of the core network device or information from outside the core network device (e.g., information from an external device). By sending the first information to first network element 102, AF 101 can transmit and update A-IoT-related policies to other communication entities in the communication system through the first information, thereby implementing A-IoT-related policy changes.

[0194] It should be noted that in some embodiments, the terms "strategy," "standard," "policy," "criteria," and "policies" can be used interchangeably. For example, "changing A-IoT-related policies" can also be referred to as "changing A-IoT-related policies," or "changing A-IoT-related standards."

[0195] In some embodiments, the first information may be used to indicate at least one of the following policy changes: adding (createcreate) a policy, updating (modify) a policy, and deleting (delete) a policy.

[0196] Exemplarily, AF 101 sends the first information to the first network element 102, and instructs A-IoT to perform operations such as adding a policy, updating a policy, or deleting a policy according to different uses of the sent first information.

[0197] The first information may be, for example, at least one of the following: information for creating a Nenf service parameter (Nnef_ServiceParameter_Create), information for updating a Nenf service parameter (Nnef_ServiceParameter_Update), and information for deleting a Nenf service parameter (Nnef_ServiceParameter_Delete).

[0198] For example, when the first network element 102 is an NEF, the AF 101 may instruct the A-IoT to add a policy by sending information (Nnef_ServiceParameter_Create) for requesting the creation of a Nenf service parameter to the first network element 102. For another example, the AF 101 may instruct the A-IoT to update a policy by sending information (Nnef_ServiceParameter_Update) for requesting the update of a Nenf service parameter to the first network element 102. For another example, the AF 101 may instruct the A-IoT to delete a policy by sending information (Nnef_ServiceParameter_Delete) for requesting the deletion of a Nenf service parameter to the first network element 102.

[0199] It should be noted that, if the first network element 102 is another functional entity, the specific form of the first information may be changed accordingly to enable the AF 101 to instruct the A-IoT to perform a corresponding policy change. Alternatively, if it is required to instruct the A-IoT to perform other types of policy changes, the specific form of the first information may also be changed accordingly.

[0200] In some embodiments, the content included in the first information may include at least one of the following: AF identification; device information (device info); policy identification (criteria or policies info); policy content (content) information; application layer message.

[0201] Optionally, the device information includes at least one of the following: terminal identification; A-IoT identification; A-IoT group identification; association relationship between the terminal and A-IoT; and association (mapping) identification between the terminal and A-IoT.

[0202] Optionally, the device information may include information about the A-IoT device. For example, the device information may include the A-IoT device identifier, the A-IoT device group identifier, and the like. The A-IoT device identifier and the A-IoT device group identifier may be external identifiers. External identifiers may be understood as data from outside the communication system.

[0203] Optionally, the device information may include the association relationship between the terminal and the A-IoT and the association identifier between the terminal and the A-IoT. For example, the terminal may identify the A-IoT device based on the association relationship between the terminal and the A-IoT and / or the association identifier between the terminal and the A-IoT, and manage the identified A-IoT device.

[0204] Optionally, the device information may include a terminal identifier associated with the A-IoT device. Therefore, the first information may include a terminal identifier associated with the A-IoT device, for example, an identifier of a terminal associated with the A-IoT device, so that the first information can be sent to the terminal based on the terminal identifier, and the terminal can update the A-IoT device-related policy.

[0205] Optionally, the criteria or policies ID identifier includes, for example, a transaction reference ID.

[0206] Optionally, the application layer information may be application layer information related to the policy provided by AF 101. For example, AF 101 provides a new policy based on the first information, and the application layer information may be application layer information related to the new policy provided by AF 101, such as application layer information related to periodic operations.

[0207] Optionally, the policy content information includes, for example, at least one of the following: time information (time info); location information (location info); association information (association info); and operation information (operation info).

[0208] The time information includes, for example, at least one of the following: the lifecycle of the terminal; the lifecycle of the A-IoT; the availability time of the terminal; the availability time of the A-IoT; the unavailability time of the terminal; the unavailability time of the A-IoT; the periodic operation frequency of the terminal; the periodic operation frequency of the A-IoT; the start time of the periodic operation; and the end time of the periodic operation. It should be noted that the A-IoT mentioned in the time information may be, for example, the A-IoT associated with the terminal.

[0209] The location information includes, for example, at least one of the following: an allowed tracking area; an unallowed tracking area; an allowed paging area; an unallowed paging area; and a maximum communication range.

[0210] The operation information includes, for example, at least one of the following: an operation list; an operation threshold; allowed operations; and disallowed operations.

[0211] The operation list may include at least one of the following operations: read and write operation; write operation; disable operation; discover operation; inventory operation; control operation; periodic inventory operation; and event report operation.

[0212] The event reporting operation can be used to indicate at least one of the following: events that the A-IoT needs to report to the core network device; events that the A-IoT needs to report to the AF. Events that the A-IoT needs to report include, for example, at least one of the following: location change events; associated terminal change events; state change events; threshold change events; topology change events, etc.

[0213] It can be understood that the corresponding information in the process of changing the policy of the A-IoT item is clarified through the corresponding content included in the first information. For example, for the policy identifier and / or policy content information in the first information, the change of the relevant policy in the process of changing the A-IoT-related policy can be clarified (for example, when the policy change is to add a policy, the newly added policy can be indicated by the policy identifier and / or policy content information in the first information). For another example, for the device information in the first information, the device information about the receiving policy in the process of changing the A-IoT-related policy can be clarified (for example, if the A-IoT identifier is indicated in the device information, the policy to be changed can be sent to the corresponding A-IoT device through the identifier). For another example, for the application layer information in the first information, the application layer information about the changed policy in the process of changing the A-IoT-related policy can be clarified (for example, if the application layer information includes application layer information related to periodic operations, the application layer information related to periodic operations can be updated through the application layer information).

[0214] In some embodiments, "obtain", "get", "get", "receive", "transmit", "bidirectional transmission", "send and / or receive" can be interchangeable, and can be interpreted as receiving from other entities, obtaining from protocols, obtaining from higher layers, obtaining by self-processing, autonomous implementation, etc.

[0215] In some embodiments, terms such as "send", "transmit", "report", "download", "transmit", "bidirectional transmission", "send and / or receive" can be used interchangeably.

[0216] In some embodiments, the names of information, etc. are not limited to the names described in the embodiments, and terms such as "information", "message", "signal", "signaling", "report", "configuration", "indication", "instruction", "command", "channel", "parameter", "domain", "field", "symbol", "symbol", "codeword", "codebook", "codeword", "codepoint", "bit", "data", "program", and "chip" can be used interchangeably.

[0217] In some embodiments, terms such as "certain", "preset", "preset", "setting", "indicated", "a certain", "any", and "first" can be interchangeable. "Specific A", "preset A", "preset A", "setting A", "indicated A", "a certain A", "any A", and "first A" can be interpreted as A pre-specified in a protocol, etc., or as A obtained through setting, configuration, or indication, etc., or as specific A, a certain A, any A, or first A, etc., but not limited to this.

[0218] Step S2102: The first network element 102 authorizes the first information.

[0219] In some embodiments, the first network element 102 authorizes the first information sent by the AF 101, and when the first information includes external information, maps the external information to internal information to obtain second information.

[0220] For ease of understanding, the first network element 102 is exemplified as an NEF. It is understood that in different application scenarios, or when corresponding to different communication systems, the first network element 102 may not be limited to an NEF network element. It is also understood that for ease of understanding, other network elements in the embodiments of the present disclosure (e.g., the second network element 107, the third network element 108, and the fourth network element 104) will also be illustrated using corresponding specific examples, but the other network elements are not limited to only corresponding to these examples.

[0221] It is understandable that in the relevant embodiment of step S2101, AF 101 sends a first message to the first network element to request an A-IoT-related policy change. Before making a policy change, NEF needs to authorize it to perform subsequent operations. It is also understandable that when the first information sent by AF 101 includes external information (for example: the first information is information obtained by AF based on a device outside the communication system), since the external information cannot be directly used for interaction within the communication system, it needs to be mapped to internal information that can be used for communication system interaction, that is, the second information.

[0222] It is understood that when mapping the first information to the second information, the specific content included in the information and the content indicated by the information generally remain unchanged. That is, in the communication system, subsequent communication processes can use the second information to perform policy changes corresponding to the first information (for example, adding a policy, updating a policy, deleting a policy, etc.).

[0223] In some embodiments, the external information includes at least one of the following: external AF information, external device information, external area information, and external policy information (external criteria or policies info), where the external policy information includes an external policy identifier. The NEF maps the external information into internal information, where the internal information includes, for example, AF information, internal device information, location information, time information, and internal policy information, where the internal policy information includes an internal policy identifier.

[0224] It is understandable that the NEF can store the mapped internal information, for example, by sending the mapped internal information to a network element that can be used for storage, so that subsequent processes in the communication system can communicate and interact based on the stored internal information.

[0225] It should be noted that the external information and internal information can be mapped to each other through NEF, for example, mapping external information to internal information or mapping internal information to external information.

[0226] It is also understandable that, when the first information received by the NEF is internal information, the NEF may not perform the above-mentioned mapping process on the first information, but may directly determine the first information as the second information and send it to a storage-capable network element for storage. This enables subsequent processes in the communication system to communicate and interact based on the stored internal information.

[0227] In step S2103 , the first network element 102 communicates with the second network element 107 .

[0228] In some embodiments, the first network element 102 communicates and interacts with the second network element 107, and stores information exchanged between the first network element 102 and the second network element 107. For example, the first network element 102 sends second information to the second network element 107, and the second network element 107 stores the second information.

[0229] For ease of understanding, the second network element 107 is exemplified by taking a UDR as an example.

[0230] In some embodiments, the storage of the second information may include at least one of the following situations: storage of an addition policy, storage of a deletion policy, and storage of a modification policy.

[0231] For example, when the first network element 102 (e.g., NEF) receives information requesting the creation of a Nenef service parameter (e.g., Nnef_ServiceParameter_Create or Nnef_ServiceParameter_CreateUpdate), the NEF stores the information as application data in the UDR. The information may include at least one of the following: AF information, device information, location information, time information, and policy information (e.g., policy identifier and / or policy content information). For example, subsets of the application data are set to correspond to the corresponding information.

[0232] For another example, when the first network element 102 (eg, NEF) receives information (eg, Nnef_ServiceParameter_Delete) requesting Nnef service parameter deletion, the NEF deletes the corresponding policy information in the UDR based on the policy identifier (eg, service reference identifier).

[0233] Based on this, the second network element 107 can store the changed policy so that subsequent communication processes can use the stored information.

[0234] Step S2104 : The first network element 102 sends a first response message to the AF 101 .

[0235] In some embodiments, the AF 101 receives a first response message sent by the first network element 102. The first response message is used to identify a result of the change processing performed by the first network element on the first information.

[0236] It should be noted that the change processing, such as the related steps mentioned in step S2102 and step S2103, for example: authorizing the first information, and mapping the external information to internal information when the first information includes external information, obtaining the second information, and interacting with the second network element 107.

[0237] Exemplarily, the first network element (e.g., NEF) 102 sends a corresponding first response message to the AF 101 in response to the first message sent by the AF 101. For example, if the first message is a message for requesting the creation of a NENF service parameter (e.g., Nnef_ServiceParameter_Create or Nnef_ServiceParameter_CreateUpdate), the NEF completes the interaction with the second network element 107 (e.g., UDR) and notifies the AF 101 of the result via the corresponding first response message. The result may be, for example, the storage of the new policy in the UDR, the non-storage of the new policy in the UDR, or the reason for not storing the new policy in the UDR. For another example, if the first message is a message for requesting the update of a NENF service parameter (e.g., Nnef_ServiceParameter_Update), the NEF completes the interaction with the UDR and notifies the AF 101 of the result via the corresponding first response message. The result may be, for example, the updating of the policy in the UDR or the non-updating of the new policy in the UDR. For another example, when the first message is a message for requesting Nnef service parameter deletion (Nnef_ServiceParameter_Delete), the NEF completes the interaction with the UDR and notifies the AF 101 of the result through a corresponding first response message. The result may be, for example, deleting the relevant policy from the UDR or not deleting the relevant policy from the UDR.

[0238] Based on this, the first network element 102 can feed back the result of the change processing on the first information to the AF 101, so that the AF 101 can perform subsequent processing based on the processing result in a timely manner.

[0239] Step S2105 , the second network element 107 sends a first message to the third network element 108 .

[0240] In some embodiments, the third network element 108 receives a first message sent by the second network element 107, wherein the first message is triggered when the third network element 108 subscribes to the second information, and is used to notify that the second information has changed, so that the third network element 108 determines the A-IoT policy change decision.

[0241] For ease of understanding, the third network element 108 is exemplified by taking PCF as an example.

[0242] It should be noted that the first message sent by the second network element (such as UDR) 103 to the PCF can be understood as a subscription message. In the case where there is a fixed subscription relationship between PCF and UDR, the trigger condition for the subscription can be sent to PCF. For example, PCF subscribes to the second information in the UDR, and when the content of the second information changes, the UDR sends a first message to PCF to inform PCF that the second information stored in the UDR has changed. Optionally, the specific content of the change can also be notified to PCF through the first message (for example, which policies in the UDR have been changed, added or deleted by AF 101, etc.). This enables PCF to determine the corresponding A-IoT policy change decision based on the change in the second information.

[0243] In some embodiments, the decision to change the A-IoT policy is used to change the policy of the terminal and / or change the policy of the A-IoT.

[0244] Changing the terminal's policy can be understood as the fourth network element updating the terminal's policy. Changing the A-IoT's policy can be understood as the fourth network element updating the A-IoT device's policy.

[0245] [Corrected 06.05.2024 according to Rule 91] In an example of the present disclosure, the PCF determines to update a policy for an A-IoT device, or to update a policy related to an A-IoT device for a terminal, or to update a policy for both the terminal and the A-IoT device.

[0246] In some embodiments, the first message may be, for example, a Nudr data management notification (Nudr_DM_Notify notification) for notifying the UDR of a data change requested by the AF 101.

[0247] Step S2106 , the third network element 108 sends the policy to the fourth network element 105 .

[0248] In some embodiments, the fourth network element 105 receives the policy sent by the third network element 108 .

[0249] Among them, the policy sent by the fourth network element 105 can be the policy of the terminal, the policy of A-IoT, or the policy of the terminal and A-IoT.

[0250] The policy sent by the fourth network element 105 is determined by the A-IoT policy change decision. In one example, when the A-IoT policy change decision is used to change the policy of the terminal, the policy sent by the fourth network element 105 may be the policy of the terminal. In one example, when the A-IoT policy change decision is used to change the policy of the A-IoT, the policy sent by the fourth network element 105 may be the policy of the A-IoT. In one example, when the A-IoT policy change decision is used to change the policy of the A-IoT, the policy sent by the fourth network element 105 may be the policy of the terminal. In one example, when the A-IoT policy change decision is used to change the policy of the terminal and the A-IoT, the policy sent by the fourth network element 105 may be the policy of the terminal and the A-IoT.

[0251] It is understandable that the A-IoT policy change decision and the policy determined by the A-IoT policy change decision have been explained in the relevant embodiments of step S2105 and will not be repeated here.

[0252] For ease of understanding, the fourth network element 105 is illustrated using AMF as an example.

[0253] It should be noted that the AMF receives the policy sent by the third network element (PCF) 104 and forwards the policy to the recipient of the corresponding policy. The recipient may be, for example, the terminal 103, or the A-IoT device 108, or both the terminal 103 and the A-IoT device 108.

[0254] The AMF determines the terminal 103 and / or the A-IoT device 108 based on at least one of the A-IOT identifier, the A-IOT group identifier, the terminal identifier, the association relationship, and the association identifier. In one example, the terminal 103 is a terminal associated with the A-IoT (the terminal 103 may be associated with the A-IoT 104, or may be associated with another A-IoT other than the A-IoT 104).

[0255] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the fourth network element 105 sends a policy according to the network topology and mode.

[0256] The policy of A-IoT 104 can be sent to A-IOT 108, to terminal 103 (if the terminal is fully managed), or to A-IoT 104 and terminal 103. The policy of terminal 103 can be sent to terminal 103.

[0257] It is understandable that the recipients of the policy may be different.

[0258] That is, the received SMS messages according to the sending strategy of the fourth network element 105 can be divided into the following three categories: a) to c)

[0259] a) Sent to A-IoT 104.

[0260] b) Sent to A-IoT 104 and terminal 103.

[0261] c) Send to terminal 103.

[0262] The three sending methods a) to c) above correspond to different information exchange steps. The following will respectively explain the above two sending methods.

[0263] The information interaction steps corresponding to a) AMF sending the policy to A-IoT 104 include: step S2107 and step S2108.

[0264] In step S2107 , the fourth network element 105 sends the policy to the A-IoT 104 .

[0265] In some embodiments, the A-IoT 104 receives a policy sent by a fourth network element (eg, AMF) 105 .

[0266] In some embodiments, the A-IoT 104 receives the policy sent by the AMF through the access network device 106.

[0267] Optionally, when sending the policy to the A-IoT 104, the AMF also sends at least one of the following information to the A-IoT 104, for example, AF information, device information, location information, and time information. It should be noted that for the specific content corresponding to the preceding information, please refer to the relevant examples listed in step S2101 and will not be described here.

[0268] In some embodiments, the A-IoT 104 receives the policy and the A-IoT 104 updates the policy.

[0269] In some embodiments, the A-IoT 104 updating the policy can be understood as the A-IoT 104 changing the policy of the A-IoT.

[0270] [Corrected 06.05.2024 according to Rule 91] In some embodiments, the A-IoT 104 update policy can be understood as an update by the A-IoT 104 of the policy formulated by the PCF for the A-IoT device, and / or the policy formulated by the terminal 103 for the A-IoT 104 device.

[0271] In step S2108 , the A-IoT 104 sends a first confirmation message to the fourth network element 105 .

[0272] In some embodiments, the A-IoT 104 may send a first confirmation message (acknowledgement) to the fourth network element, wherein the first confirmation message is used to identify the confirmation of the result of the A-IoT policy change performed by the A-IOT 108 .

[0273] Among them, the first confirmation message includes, for example, at least one of the following: the result of A-IoT changing the A-IoT-related policy, also called the policy change result (for example, the policy change result is the result of a successful change, or the result of a failed change, etc.); the reason for the failure of the A-IoT policy change (if the policy change fails, the reason for the change failure can be sent to AMF, or the reason for the failure can not be fed back to AMF).

[0274] In some embodiments, for the first confirmation information, A-IoT can also send it to AMF through the access network device 106.

[0275] It can be understood that, through the information interaction in case a), the AMF can obtain the policy change results of the A-IoT 104 and / or the reasons for the failure of the policy change.

[0276] Regarding b) the AMF sends the policy to the terminal 103, the corresponding information interaction steps include: step S2109, step S2110, step S2111, and step S2112.

[0277] Step S2109 , the fourth network element 105 sends a policy to the terminal 103 .

[0278] In some embodiments, the terminal 103 receives a policy sent by a fourth network element (e.g., AMF) 105.

[0279] It can be understood that in some embodiments, for example, A-IoT108 has an association relationship with the terminal (for example, the terminal manages A-IoT 104). If the recipient of the policy is the terminal and A-IoT 104, the AMF can choose to send the policy to the terminal first, and then the terminal decides to send it to the A-IoT with which it has an association relationship.

[0280] In some embodiments, the terminal 103 receives the policy sent by the AMF and the terminal 103 updates the policy.

[0281] The terminal 103 updating the policy may be that the terminal 103 updates its own policy based on the policy, or may be that the terminal 103 updates the policy related to the A-IoT 104 .

[0282] In step S2110 , the terminal 103 sends a policy to the A-IoT 104 .

[0283] In some embodiments, the A-IoT 104 receives a policy sent by the policy terminal 103, which may be the policy of the A-IoT 108 sent by the AMF in case b), or the policy formulated by the terminal 103 for the A-IoT 108.

[0284] In some embodiments, when the terminal 103 determines based on its own policy that the received policy needs to be forwarded to the A-IoT, the terminal 103 sends the policy to the A-IoT 104 .

[0285] In some embodiments, the terminal 103 may send the policy by broadcasting.

[0286] In some embodiments, when the terminal 103 sends a policy to the A-IoT 104 , it also sends at least one of the following information to the A-IoT 104 , including, for example: AF information, device information, location information, and time information.

[0287] The A-IoT 104 receives the policy sent by the policy terminal 103 and updates the policy.

[0288] In some embodiments, the A-IoT 104 updating the policy can be understood as the A-IoT 104 changing the policy of the A-IoT.

[0289] [Corrected 06.05.2024 according to Rule 91] In some embodiments, the A-IoT 104 update policy can be understood as an update by the A-IoT 104 of the policy formulated by the PCF for the A-IoT device, and / or the policy formulated by the terminal 103 for the A-IoT 104 device.

[0290] When A-IoT 104 receives the policy broadcast by terminal 103 and at least one of the broadcasted device information, location information, and time information, and if the received device information and / or location information and / or time information matches the device information and / or location information and / or time information of the A-IoT device itself, it updates the policy and sends the result of the change to the A-IoT-related policy. The result of the change to the A-IoT-related policy is also called the policy change result.

[0291] It should be noted that for the specific content corresponding to the preceding information, please refer to the relevant examples listed in step S2101 and will not be explained here.

[0292] In step S2111 , the A-IoT 104 sends a third confirmation message to the terminal 103 .

[0293] In some embodiments, the terminal 103 receives the third confirmation information sent by the A-IoT 104.

[0294] In some embodiments, the third confirmation information is used to identify the confirmation of the result of the A-IoT performing the 108 change to the A-IoT-related policy, also referred to as confirmation of the policy change result.

[0295] Among them, the third confirmation information, for example, includes at least one of the following: A-IoT policy change result; reason for failure of A-IoT policy change; A-IoT identifier; A-IoT group identifier; association relationship between terminal 103 and A-IoT; association identifier between terminal 103 and A-IoT.

[0296] In some embodiments, the third confirmation information may be, for example, a correct response instruction (ACKnowledgementACKnowledgement, ACK).

[0297] Step S2112 , the terminal 103 sends a second confirmation message to the fourth network element 105 .

[0298] In some embodiments, the fourth network element 105 receives the second confirmation information sent by the terminal 103 .

[0299] In some embodiments, the second confirmation information is used to identify the confirmation of the result of the terminal performing the A-IoT-related policy change.

[0300] In some embodiments, the second confirmation information is, for example, information for a network attached storage (eg, UL NAS TRANSPORT).

[0301] For c) AMF sends the policy to the terminal 103, the corresponding information interaction steps include step S2109, step S2112, and / or the step of updating the policy.

[0302] It can be understood that the relevant exemplary descriptions of step S2109, step S2112 and the update strategy have been explained in the above embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0303] Step S2113 , the fourth network element 105 sends a fourth response message to the third network element 108 .

[0304] In some embodiments, the third network element (PCF) 104 receives a fourth response message sent by the fourth network element (AMF) 105.

[0305] In some embodiments, the fourth response message is used to identify the result of the terminal performing an A-IoT-related policy change, and / or to identify the result of the A-IoT performing an A-IoT-related policy change, and the fourth response message includes at least one of the following: the result of the A-IoT policy change; the result of the terminal performing an A-IoT policy change; the reason for the failure of the A-IoT policy change; the reason for the failure of the terminal to perform an A-IoT policy change; device information, wherein the device information includes at least one of the following: terminal identification; A-IoT identification; A-IoT group identification; the association relationship between the terminal and A-IoT; the association identification between the terminal and A-IoT.

[0306] It can be understood that AMF corresponds to the three policy sending methods a) to c) mentioned above, so different confirmation information will be received depending on the different objects related to the policy. In this case, different response information will be sent to PCF.

[0307] In some embodiments, the fourth network element 105 sends a fourth response message to the third network element 108, which may include the following two cases 1) or 2):

[0308] 1) When the fourth network element 105 receives the first confirmation information sent by the A-IoT 104, it sends a fourth response message to the third network element 108.

[0309] 2) When the fourth network element 105 receives the second confirmation information sent by the terminal 103 , it sends a fourth response message to the third network element 108 .

[0310] Step S2114 , the third network element 108 sends a third response message to the first network element 102 .

[0311] In some embodiments, the first network element (NEF) 102 receives a third response message sent by the third network element (PCF) 104 .

[0312] In some embodiments, the third response message is used to identify the result of the terminal performing an A-IoT-related policy change, and / or is used to identify the result of the A-IoT performing an A-IoT-related policy change.

[0313] The third response message includes at least one of the following: the result of the A-IoT policy change; the result of the terminal performing the A-IoT policy change; the reason for the failure of the A-IoT policy change; the reason for the failure of the terminal performing the A-IoT policy change; device information, wherein the device information includes at least one of the following: terminal identification; A-IoT identification; A-IoT group identification; the association relationship between the terminal and A-IoT; the association identification between the terminal and A-IoT.

[0314] In step S2115 , the first network element 102 performs mapping.

[0315] In some embodiments, as described in the above step S2102 , the first network element (NEF) 102 maps the internal information to the external information.

[0316] It is understandable that the mapping content between the internal information and the external information can refer to the relevant description in the above step S2102, which will not be repeated here.

[0317] Step S2116: The first network element 102 sends a second response message to the AF 101.

[0318] In some embodiments, the AF 101 receives the second response message sent by the first network 102 .

[0319] In some embodiments, the second response message is used to identify the result of the terminal 103 performing an A-IoT-related policy change, and / or is used to identify the result of the A-IoT 104 performing an A-IoT-related policy change.

[0320] The second response message includes at least one of the following: the result of the A-IoT policy change; the result of the terminal performing the A-IoT policy change.

[0321] It is understandable that, when the second response message also includes external information, it is necessary to first execute step S2115 on the second response message and then execute step S2116.

[0322] The communication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S2101 to S2116. For example, step S2101 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S2106 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S2107 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S2109 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S2101 + step S2102 + step S2103 + step S2104 + step S2105 + step S2106 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S2106 + step S2107 + step S2108 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S2106 + step S2109 + step S2110 + step S2111 + step S2112 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step S2106 + step S2109 + step S2112 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0323] In some embodiments, steps S2101 and S2102 may be executed in an exchanged order or simultaneously, and steps S2103 and S2104 may be executed in an exchanged order or simultaneously.

[0324] In some embodiments, step S2110 and step S2111 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0325] In some embodiments, step S2107 and step S2108 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0326] In some embodiments, step S2102 and step S2115 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0327] In some embodiments, step S2113 and step S2114 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0328] FIG3A is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG3A , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method, which includes:

[0329] Step S3101, sending the first information.

[0330] In some embodiments, the AF sends the first information to the first network element.

[0331] The optional implementation of step S3101 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2101 in Figure 2 and other related parts in the embodiment involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0332] Step S3102: Receive a first response message.

[0333] In some embodiments, the AF receives first response information sent by the first network element.

[0334] The optional implementation of step S3102 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2104 in Figure 2 and other related parts in the embodiment involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0335] Step S3103: Receive a second response message.

[0336] In some embodiments, the AF receives second response information sent by the first network element.

[0337] The optional implementation of step S3103 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2116 in Figure 2 and other related parts in the embodiment involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0338] The communication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S3101 to S3103. For example, step S3101 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S3102 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step S3101+step S3102+step S3103 may be implemented as independent embodiments, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0339] In some embodiments, steps S3101 and S3102 may be executed in an interchanged order or simultaneously.

[0340] In some embodiments, step S3101 and step S3102 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0341] In some embodiments, step S3101 and step S3103 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0342] In some embodiments, step S3102 and step S3103 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0343] FIG3B is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG3B , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method, and the method includes:

[0344] Step S3201, sending the first information.

[0345] The optional implementation of step S3201 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2101 in Figure 2, step S3101 in Figure 3A and other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figures 2 and 3A, which will not be repeated here.

[0346] Step S3202: Receive a second response message.

[0347] The optional implementation of step S3202 can refer to step S2104, step S2116 in Figure 2, step S3102 in Figure 3A, the optional implementation of step S3103 and other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figures 2 and 3A, which will not be repeated here.

[0348] The communication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S3201 and S3202. For example, step S3201 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S3202 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step S3201+step S3202+ may be implemented as independent embodiments, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0349] In some embodiments, steps S3201 and S3202 may be executed in an interchanged order or simultaneously.

[0350] In some embodiments, step S3102 is optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0351] FIG3C is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG3C , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method, which includes:

[0352] Step S3301, sending the first information.

[0353] The optional implementation of step S3301 can be found in steps S2101, S2104, and S2116 of Figure 2, the optional implementation of steps S3101, S3102, and S3103 of Figure 3A, and steps S3201 and S3202 of Figure 3B, as well as other related parts of the embodiments involved in Figures 2, 3A, and 3B, which will not be repeated here.

[0354] In some embodiments, the first information is used to change A-IoT-related policies.

[0355] In some embodiments, the first information is used to perform at least one of the following policy changes: adding a policy; updating a policy; deleting a policy.

[0356] In some embodiments, the first information includes at least one of the following: AF identification; device information; policy identification; policy content information; application layer message; wherein the device information includes at least one of the following: terminal identification; A-IoT identification; A-IoT group identification; association relationship between the terminal and A-IoT; association identification between the terminal and A-IoT; policy identification includes at least one of the following: service reference identification; policy content information includes at least one of the following: time information; location information; association information; operation information; the application layer message is application layer information related to the policy provided by the AF; wherein the time information includes at least one of the following: terminal life cycle; A-IoT life cycle; terminal availability time; A-IoT availability time; terminal unavailability time; A-IoT unavailability time; terminal periodic operation frequency; A- The periodic operation frequency of IoT; the start time of periodic operation; the end time of periodic operation; the location information includes at least one of the following: allowed tracking area; disallowed tracking area; allowed paging area; disallowed paging area; maximum communication range; the operation information includes at least one of the following: an operation list; an operation threshold; allowed operations; disallowed operations; wherein the operation list includes at least one of the following: read and write operations; write operations; disable operations; discovery operations; inventory operations; control operations; periodic inventory operations; event reporting operations; the event reporting operation is used to indicate at least one of the following: events that A-IoT needs to report to the core network device; events that A-IoT needs to report to the AF; wherein the events include at least one of the following: location change events; associated terminal change events; state change events; threshold change events; topology change events.

[0357] In some embodiments, the method also includes: AF receives a first response message of the first information sent by the first network element, the first response message is used to indicate the result of the first network element performing change processing on the first information, and the change processing includes at least one of the following authorizations for the first information; when the first information includes external information, the external information is mapped to internal information to obtain second information, and interacts with the second network element so that the second network element stores the second information.

[0358] In some embodiments, the method also includes: the AF receives a second response message sent by the first network element, the second response message is used to identify the result of the terminal performing an A-IoT-related policy change, and / or is used to identify the result of the A-IoT performing an A-IoT-related policy change.

[0359] The second response message includes at least one of the following: A-IoT policy change result; result of the terminal performing the A-IoT policy change; reason for the failure of the A-IoT policy change; reason for the failure of the terminal performing the A-IoT policy change; device information.

[0360] FIG4A is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG4A , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method, and the method includes:

[0361] Step S4101, receiving first information.

[0362] In some embodiments, the first network element receives the first information.

[0363] The optional implementation of step S4101 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2101 in Figure 2 and other related parts in the embodiment involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0364] Step S4102: Authorize the first information.

[0365] In some embodiments, the first network element authorizes the first information.

[0366] The optional implementation of step S4102 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2102 in Figure 2 and other related parts in the embodiment involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0367] Step S4103: interact with the second network element.

[0368] In some embodiments, the first network element interacts with the second network element.

[0369] The optional implementation of step S4103 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2103 in Figure 2 and other related parts in the embodiment involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0370] Step S4104: Send a first response message.

[0371] In some embodiments, the first network element sends a first response message.

[0372] The optional implementation of step S4104 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2104 in Figure 2 and other related parts in the embodiment involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0373] Step S4105: Receive a third response message.

[0374] In some embodiments, the first network element receives a third response message.

[0375] The optional implementation of step S4105 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2114 in Figure 2 and other related parts in the embodiment involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0376] Step S4106, perform mapping.

[0377] In some embodiments, the first network element performs the mapping.

[0378] The optional implementation of step S4106 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2115 in Figure 2 and other related parts in the embodiment involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0379] Step S4107: Send a second response message.

[0380] In some embodiments, the first network element sends a second response message.

[0381] The optional implementation of step S4107 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2116 in Figure 2 and other related parts in the embodiment involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0382] The communication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S4101 to S4107. For example, step S4101 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S4102 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and steps S4101, S4102, S4103, and S4107 may be implemented as independent embodiments, but are not limited thereto.

[0383] In some embodiments, steps S4102 and S4103 may be executed in an interchanged order or simultaneously.

[0384] In some embodiments, step S4101, step S4102, step S4103, step S4104, step S4105, and step S4106 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0385] In some embodiments, step S4101, step S4102, step S4103, step S4104, step S4105, and step S4107 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0386] In some embodiments, step S4101, step S4102, step S4103, step S4104, step S4106, and step S4107 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0387] In some embodiments, step S4101, step S4102, step S4103, step S4105, step S4106, and step S4107 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0388] In some embodiments, step S4101, step S4102, step S4104, step S4105, step S4106, and step S4107 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0389] In some embodiments, step S4101, step S4103, step S4104, step S4105, step S4106, and step S4107 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0390] In some embodiments, step S4102, step S4103, step S4104, step S4105, step S41065, and step S41076 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0391] FIG4B is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG4B , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method, and the method includes:

[0392] Step S4201, receiving first information.

[0393] The optional implementation of step S4201 can be found in steps S2101, S2102, S2103, and S2104 of Figure 2 , the optional implementation of steps S4101, S4102, S4103, and S4104 of Figure 4A , and other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figures 2 and 4A , which will not be repeated here.

[0394] Step S4202: Receive a third response message.

[0395] The optional implementation of step S4202 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2114 in Figure 2, step S4105 in Figure 4A and other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figures 2 and 4A, which will not be repeated here.

[0396] Step S4203: Send a second response message.

[0397] The optional implementation of step S4203 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2116 in Figure 2, step S4106 in Figure 4A, step S4107 and other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figures 2 and 4A, which will not be repeated here.

[0398] The communication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S4201 to S4203. For example, step S4201 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S4202 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step S4201+step S4202+step S4203 may be implemented as independent embodiments, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0399] In some embodiments, steps S4201 and S4202 may be executed in an interchanged order or simultaneously.

[0400] In some embodiments, step S4201 and step S4202 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0401] In some embodiments, step S4201 and step S4203 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0402] In some embodiments, step S4202 and step S4203 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0403] FIG4C is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG4C , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method, and the method includes:

[0404] Step S4301, receiving first information.

[0405] [Corrected 06.05.2024 according to Rule 91] For the optional implementation of step S4301, please refer to steps S2101, S2102, S2103, S2104, S2114, and S2116 of Figure 2, steps S4101 to S4107 of Figure 4A, steps S4201 and S4202 of Figure 4B, and other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figures 2, 4A, and 4B, which will not be repeated here.

[0406] In some embodiments, the first information is used to change A-IoT-related policies.

[0407] In some embodiments, the first information is used to perform at least one of the following policy changes: adding a policy; updating a policy; deleting a policy.

[0408] In some embodiments, the first information includes at least one of the following: AF identification; device information; policy identification; policy content information; application layer message; wherein the device information includes at least one of the following: terminal identification; A-IoT identification; group identification between the terminal and A-IoT; association relationship between the terminal and A-IoT; policy information includes at least one of the following: policy identification; service reference identification; content information includes at least one of the following: time information; location information; association information; operation information; application layer message is application layer information related to the policy, and the policy is determined based on the policy identification and / or policy content information; wherein the time information includes at least one of the following: terminal life cycle; A-IoT life cycle; terminal availability time; A-IoT availability time; terminal unavailability time; A-IoT unavailability time; terminal periodic operation Frequency; periodic operation frequency of A-IoT; start time of periodic operation; end time of periodic operation; location information includes at least one of the following: allowed tracking area; disallowed tracking area; allowed paging area; disallowed paging area; maximum communication range; operation information includes at least one of the following: operation list; operation threshold; allowed operation; disallowed operation; wherein, the operation list includes at least one of the following: read and write operation; write operation; disable operation; discovery operation; inventory operation; control operation; periodic inventory operation; event reporting operation; event reporting operation is used to indicate at least one of the following: events that A-IoT needs to report to the core network device; events that A-IoT needs to report to AF; wherein, the events include at least one of the following: location change event; associated terminal change event; state change event; threshold change event; topology change event.

[0409] In some embodiments, the method further includes: authorizing the first information, and when the first information includes external information, mapping the external information into internal information to obtain second information; sending the second information to the second network element so that the second network element stores the second information.

[0410] In some embodiments, the method also includes: sending a first response message of the first information to the AF, the first response message is used to identify the result of the first network element performing change processing on the first information, and the change processing includes at least one of the following: authorizing the first information; when the first information includes external information, mapping the external information to internal information to obtain second information, and interacting with the second network element so that the second network element stores the second information.

[0411] In some embodiments, the method also includes: receiving a third response message sent by a third network element, the third response message is used to identify the result of the terminal performing an A-IoT-related policy change, and / or used to identify the result of the A-IoT performing an A-IoT-related policy change, the third response message includes at least one of the following: the result of the A-IoT policy change, the result of the terminal performing an A-IoT policy change, the reason for the failure of the A-IoT policy change; the reason for the failure of the terminal to perform an A-IoT policy change; device information, wherein the device information includes at least one of the following: terminal identification; A-IoT identification; A-IoT group identification; the association relationship between the terminal and A-IoT; the association identification between the terminal and A-IoT.

[0412] In some embodiments, the method further includes: sending the second response message to the AF, the second response message being used to identify the result of the terminal performing an A-IoT-related policy change, and / or being used to identify the result of the A-IoT performing an A-IoT-related policy change.

[0413] In some embodiments, when the second response message includes external device information, the method further includes: the first network element maps the internal information to external information, the internal information includes at least one of the following: device information; policy identifier; the external information includes at least one of the following: external device information; external policy identifier.

[0414] FIG5A is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG5A , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method, and the method includes:

[0415] Step S5101: interact with the first network element.

[0416] In some embodiments, the second network element interacts with the first network element.

[0417] The optional implementation of step S5101 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2103 in Figure 2 and other related parts in the embodiment involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0418] Step S5102, sending the first message.

[0419] In some embodiments, the second network element sends the first message.

[0420] The optional implementation of step S5102 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2105 in Figure 2 and other related parts in the embodiment involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0421] The communication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S5101 and S5102. For example, step S5101 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S5102 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step S5101 + step S5102 may be implemented as independent embodiments, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0422] In some embodiments, steps S5101 and S5102 may be executed in an interchanged order or simultaneously.

[0423] FIG5B is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG5A , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method, which includes:

[0424] Step S5201, receiving second information.

[0425] In some embodiments, the second information is information interacted with the first network element.

[0426] The optional implementation of step S5201 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2103 in Figure 2, step S5101 in Figure 5A and other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figures 2 and 5A, which will not be repeated here.

[0427] Step S5202, sending the first message.

[0428] The optional implementation of step S5202 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2105 in Figure 2, step S5102 in Figure 5A and other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figures 2 and 5A, which will not be repeated here.

[0429] The communication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S5201 and S5202. For example, step S5201 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S5202 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step S5201 + step S5202 may be implemented as independent embodiments, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0430] In some embodiments, steps S5201 and S5202 may be executed in an interchanged order or simultaneously.

[0431] FIG5C is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG5C , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method, and the method includes:

[0432] Step S5301: Receive and store second information.

[0433] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S5301 can refer to step S2103, step S2105 in Figure 2, step S5101, step S5102 in Figure 5A, step S5201, and the optional implementation of step S5202 in Figure 5B and other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figures 2, 5A, and 5B, which will not be repeated here.

[0434] In some embodiments, the second information is obtained by the first network element mapping the external information into internal information when there is external information in the first information. The second information is used to determine the A-IoT policy change decision, and the first information is used to change the policy related to the environmental Internet of Things device A-IoT.

[0435] In some embodiments, the method also includes: when a third network element subscribes to the second information, sending a first message to the third network element to notify that the second information has changed, so that the third network element determines an A-IoT policy change decision, and the A-IoT policy change decision is used to change the terminal's policy and / or change the A-IoT's policy.

[0436] FIG6A is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG6A , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method, and the method includes:

[0437] Step S6101, receiving the first message.

[0438] In some embodiments, the third network element receives the first message.

[0439] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S6101 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2105 in Figure 2 and other related parts of the embodiment involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0440] Step S6102, sending strategy.

[0441] In some embodiments, the third network element sends the policy.

[0442] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S6102 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2106 in Figure 2 and other related parts of the embodiment involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0443] Step S6103: Receive the fourth response message.

[0444] In some embodiments, the third network element receives a fourth response message.

[0445] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S6102 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2113 in Figure 2 and other related parts of the embodiment involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0446] Step S6104: Send a third response message.

[0447] In some embodiments, the third network element sends a third response message.

[0448] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S6102 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2114 in Figure 2 and other related parts of the embodiment involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0449] In some embodiments, the communication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S6101 to S6104. For example, step S6101 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S6102 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step S6101 + step S6102 may be implemented as independent embodiments, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0450] In some embodiments, steps S6101 and S6102 may be executed in an interchanged order or simultaneously.

[0451] In some embodiments, step S6103 and step 6104 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0452] In some embodiments, step S6101, step S6102, and step S6103 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0453] In some embodiments, step S6101, step S6102, and step S6104 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0454] In some embodiments, step S6101, step S6103, and step S6104 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0455] In some embodiments, step S6102, step S6103, and step S6104 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0456] FIG6B is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG6B , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method, and the method includes:

[0457] Step S6201, receiving the first message.

[0458] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S6201 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2105 in Figure 2, step S6101 in Figure 6A and other related parts of the embodiments involved in Figures 2 and 6A, which will not be repeated here.

[0459] Step S6202, sending strategy.

[0460] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S6201 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2106, step S2113, step S2114 in Figure 2, step S6102, step S6103, step S6104 in Figure 6A, and other related parts of the embodiments involved in Figure 2 and Figure 6A, which will not be repeated here.

[0461] The communication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S6201 and S6202. For example, step S6201 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S6202 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step S6201 + step S6202 may be implemented as independent embodiments, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0462] In some embodiments, steps S6201 and S6202 may be executed in an interchanged order or simultaneously.

[0463] In some embodiments, step S6201 is optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0464] In some embodiments, step S6202 is optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0465] FIG6C is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG6C , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method, and the method includes:

[0466] Step S6301, receiving the first message.

[0467] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S6301 can refer to steps S2105, S2106, S2113, and S2114 of Figure 2, steps S6101 to S6104 of Figure 6A, steps S6201 and S6202 of Figure 6B, and other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figures 2, 6A, and 6B, which will not be repeated here.

[0468] In some embodiments, the first message is triggered when the third network element subscribes to the second information, and is used to notify the third network element that the second information has changed, so that the third network element determines the A-IoT policy change decision of the environmental Internet of Things device based on the second information. The A-IoT policy change decision is used to determine the policy change of the terminal and / or the policy change of the A-IoT. The policy is determined based on the second information. The second information is obtained by the first network element mapping the external information to internal information when the first information includes external information. The first information is used to change the policy related to the environmental Internet of Things device A-IoT.

[0469] In some embodiments, the method further includes: sending a policy to a fourth network element, where the policy is determined based on the A-IoT policy change decision.

[0470] In some embodiments, the method also includes: receiving a fourth response message sent by a fourth network element, the fourth response message is used to identify the result of the terminal performing an A-IoT-related policy change, and / or used to identify the result of the A-IoT performing an A-IoT-related policy change, the fourth response message includes at least one of the following: the result of the A-IoT policy change; the result of the terminal performing an A-IoT policy change; the reason for the failure of the A-IoT policy change; the reason for the failure of the terminal to perform an A-IoT policy change; device information, wherein the device information includes at least one of the following: terminal identification; A-IoT identification; A-IoT group identification; the association relationship between the terminal and A-IoT; the association identification between the terminal and A-IoT.

[0471] In some embodiments, the method also includes: sending a third response message to the first network element, the third response message is used to identify the result of the terminal performing an A-IoT-related policy change, and / or is used to identify the result of the A-IoT performing an A-IoT-related policy change, the third response message includes at least one of the following: the result of the A-IoT policy change; the result of the terminal performing an A-IoT policy change; the reason for the failure of the A-IoT policy change; the reason for the failure of the terminal to perform an A-IoT policy change; device information, wherein the device information includes at least one of the following: terminal identification; A-IoT identification; A-IoT group identification; the association relationship between the terminal and A-IoT; the association identification between the terminal and A-IoT.

[0472] FIG7A is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG7A , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method, and the method includes:

[0473] Step S7101, receiving the policy.

[0474] In some embodiments, the fourth network element receives the policy.

[0475] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S7101 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2106 in Figure 2 and other related parts of the embodiment involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0476] Step S7102: Send the policy to A-IoT.

[0477] In some embodiments, the fourth network element sends the policy to the A-IoT.

[0478] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S7102 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2107 in Figure 2 and other related parts of the embodiment involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0479] Step S7103: Receive first confirmation information.

[0480] In some embodiments, the fourth network element receives the first confirmation information.

[0481] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S7103 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2108 in Figure 2 and other related parts of the embodiment involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0482] Step S7104: Send the policy to the terminal.

[0483] In some embodiments, the fourth network element sends the policy to the terminal.

[0484] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S7104 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2109 in Figure 2 and other related parts of the embodiment involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0485] Step S7105: Receive the second confirmation information.

[0486] In some embodiments, the fourth network element receives the second confirmation information.

[0487] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S7105 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2112 in Figure 2 and other related parts of the embodiment involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0488] Step S7106: Send a fourth response message.

[0489] In some embodiments, the fourth network element sends a fourth response message.

[0490] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S7106 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2113 in Figure 2 and other related parts of the embodiment involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0491] The communication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S7101 to S7106. For example, step S7101 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S7102 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S7104 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S7101 + step S7102 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S7101 + step S7104 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S7102 + step S7103 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S7104 + step S7105 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step S7101 + step S7106 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0492] In some embodiments, steps 7101 and S7106 may be performed in an interchanged order or simultaneously.

[0493] In some embodiments, step S7101, step S7102, step S7103, step S7104, and step S7105 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0494] In some embodiments, step S7101, step S7102, step S7103, step S7105, and step S7106 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0495] In some embodiments, step S7101, step S7102, step S7104, step S7105, and step S71065 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0496] In some embodiments, step S7101, step S7103, step S7104, step S7105, and step S7106 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0497] In some embodiments, step S7101, step S7103, step S7104, step S7105, and step S7106 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0498] In some embodiments, step S7102, step S7103, step S7104, step S7105, and step S7106 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0499] FIG7B is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG7B , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method, and the method includes:

[0500] Step S7201, receiving the policy.

[0501] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S7201 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2106 in Figure 2, step S7101 in Figure 7A and other related parts of the embodiments involved in Figures 2 and 7A, which will not be repeated here.

[0502] Step S7202, sending strategy.

[0503] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S7202 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2106, step S2107, step S2109 in Figure 2, step S7101, step S7102, step S7104 in Figure 7A and other related parts of the embodiments involved in Figures 2 and 7A, which will not be repeated here.

[0504] Step S7203: Send a fourth response message.

[0505] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S7202 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2103, step S2105, step S2113 in Figure 2, step S7103, step S7105, step S7106 in Figure 7A and other related parts of the embodiments involved in Figures 2 and 7A, which will not be repeated here.

[0506] The communication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S7201 to S7203. For example, step S7201 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S7202 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step S7201+step S7202+step S7203 may be implemented as independent embodiments, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0507] In some embodiments, steps S7201 and S7202 may be executed in an interchanged order or simultaneously.

[0508] In some embodiments, step S7201 and step S7202 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0509] In some embodiments, step S7201 and step S7203 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0510] In some embodiments, step S7202 and step S7203 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0511] FIG7C is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG7C , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method, and the method includes:

[0512] Step S7301, receiving the policy.

[0513] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S7201 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2106 in Figure 2, step S7101 in Figure 7A, step S7201 in Figure 7B and other related parts of the embodiments involved in Figures 2, 7A and 7B, which will not be repeated here.

[0514] Step S7302, sending strategy.

[0515] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S7202 can refer to the optional implementation of steps S2106, S2107, S2109, S2103, S2105, and S2113 in Figure 2, steps S7101, S7102, S7104, S7103, S7105, and S7106 in Figure 7A, steps S7202 and S7203 in Figure 7B, and other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figures 2, 7A, and 7B, which will not be repeated here.

[0516] In some embodiments, the fourth network element receives the policy sent by the third network element; the fourth network element sends the policy to the A-IoT, or sends the policy to the terminal, the policy is determined based on the A-IoT policy change decision, and the A-IoT policy change decision is triggered and determined by the third network element subscribing to the second information. The second information is obtained by the first network element mapping the external information to internal information when the first information includes external information. The first information is used to change the policy related to the environmental Internet of Things device A-IoT.

[0517] In some embodiments, the method also includes: receiving a first confirmation message sent by A-IoT, the first confirmation message is used to identify the confirmation of the result of A-IoT performing an A-IoT-related policy change, the first confirmation message includes at least one of the following: the result of the A-IoT policy change; the reason for the failure of the A-IoT policy change; sending a fourth response message to the third network element, the fourth response message is used to identify the result of the terminal performing an A-IoT-related policy change, and / or used to identify the result of A-IoT performing an A-IoT-related policy change, the fourth response message includes at least one of the following: the result of the A-IoT policy change; the result of the terminal performing an A-IoT policy change; the reason for the failure of the A-IoT policy change; the reason for the failure of the terminal performing an A-IoT policy change; device information, wherein the device information includes at least one of the following: terminal identification; A-IoT identification; A-IoT group identification; the association relationship between the terminal and A-IoT; the association identification between the terminal and A-IoT.

[0518] In some embodiments, the method also includes: receiving a second confirmation message sent by the terminal, the second confirmation message is used to identify the confirmation of the result of the terminal performing an A-IoT-related policy change; sending a fourth response message to a third network element, the fourth response message is used to identify the result of the terminal performing an A-IoT-related policy change, and / or used to identify the result of the A-IoT performing an A-IoT-related policy change, the reason for the failure of the A-IoT policy change; the reason for the failure of the terminal to perform an A-IoT policy change; device information, wherein the device information includes at least one of the following: terminal identification; A-IoT identification; A-IoT group identification; the association relationship between the terminal and A-IoT; the association identification between the terminal and A-IoT.

[0519] FIG8A is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG8A , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method, and the method includes:

[0520] Step S8101, receiving the policy.

[0521] In some embodiments, the terminal receives a policy.

[0522] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S8101 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2109 in Figure 2 and other related parts of the embodiment involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0523] Step S8102, sending strategy.

[0524] In some embodiments, the terminal sends the policy.

[0525] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S8102 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2110 in Figure 2 and other related parts of the embodiment involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0526] Step S8103: Receive third confirmation information.

[0527] In some embodiments, the terminal receives a third confirmation message.

[0528] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S8103 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2111 in Figure 2 and other related parts of the embodiment involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0529] Step S8104: Send a second confirmation message.

[0530] In some embodiments, the terminal sends a second confirmation message.

[0531] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S8104 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2112 in Figure 2 and other related parts of the embodiment involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0532] The communication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S8101 to S8104. For example, step S8101 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S8102 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and steps S8101, S8102, S8103, and S8104 may be implemented as independent embodiments, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0533] In some embodiments, steps S8101 and S8102 may be executed in an interchanged order or simultaneously.

[0534] In some embodiments, step S8101, step S8102, and step S8103 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0535] In some embodiments, step S8101, step S8102, and step S8104 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0536] In some embodiments, step S8101, step S8103, and step S8104 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0537] In some embodiments, step S8102, step S8103, and step S8104 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0538] FIG8B is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG8B , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method, and the method includes:

[0539] Step S8201, receiving the policy.

[0540] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S8201 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2109 in Figure 2, step S8101, the optional implementation method of Figure 8A and other related parts in the embodiment involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0541] Step S8202, sending strategy.

[0542] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S8201 can refer to the optional implementation of steps S2110 to S2112 in Figure 2, the optional implementation of steps S8102 and S8103, and other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figures 2 and 8A, which will not be repeated here.

[0543] In some embodiments, steps S8201 and S8202 may be executed in an interchanged order or simultaneously.

[0544] In some embodiments, step S8201 is optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0545] In some embodiments, step S8202 is optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0546] FIG8C is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG8C , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method, and the method includes:

[0547] Step S8301, receiving the policy.

[0548] In some embodiments, the optional implementation method of step S8301 can refer to the optional implementation method of steps S2109 to 2112 of Figure 2, steps S8101 to S8103 of Figure 8A, step S8201 and the optional implementation method of step S8202 of Figure 8B and other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figures 2, 8A and 8B, which will not be repeated here.

[0549] In some embodiments, the policy is determined based on an A-IoT policy change decision, the A-IoT policy change decision is triggered and determined by a situation where a third network element subscribes to the second information, the A-IoT policy change decision is used to change the terminal's policy, and / or change the A-IoT's policy, the second information is the first information obtained by mapping external information to internal information, and the first information is used to change A-IoT-related policies.

[0550] In some embodiments, the method further includes: updating the policy of the terminal to the policy sent by the fourth network element, where the policy of the terminal is a policy related to the terminal and A-IoT.

[0551] In some embodiments, the method also includes at least one of the following: in response to the A-IoT policy change decision being used to change the policy of the A-IoT, the policy sent by the fourth network element is sent to the A-IoT; in response to the A-IoT policy change decision being used to change the policy of the terminal, and the A-IoT policy change decision being used to change the policy of the A-IoT, the policy sent by the fourth network element is sent to the A-IoT.

[0552] In some embodiments, the method also includes: receiving a third confirmation message sent by the A-IoT device, the third confirmation message is used to indicate the confirmation of the result of the A-IoT performing an A-IoT-related policy change, and the third confirmation message includes at least one of the following: the result of the A-IoT policy change; the reason for the failure of the A-IoT policy change; the A-IoT identifier; the group identifier of the A-IoT; the association relationship between the terminal and the A-IoT; and the association identifier between the terminal and the A-IoT.

[0553] In some embodiments, the method further includes: sending second confirmation information to the fourth network element, where the second confirmation information is used to identify the confirmation of the result of the terminal performing the A-IoT-related policy change.

[0554] FIG9A is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG9A , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method, and the method includes:

[0555] Step S9101: Receive the policy sent by the fourth network element

[0556] In some embodiments, the A-IoT receives a policy sent by the fourth network element.

[0557] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S9101 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2107 in Figure 2 and other related parts of the embodiment involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0558] Step S9102: Send the first confirmation message.

[0559] In some embodiments, the A-IoT sends a first confirmation message.

[0560] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S9102 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2108 in Figure 2 and other related parts of the embodiment involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0561] Step S9103: Receive the policy sent by the terminal.

[0562] In some embodiments, the A-IoT receives a policy sent by the terminal.

[0563] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S9103 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2110 in Figure 2 and other related parts of the embodiment involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0564] Step S9104: Send the third confirmation information.

[0565] In some embodiments, A-IoT sends a third confirmation message.

[0566] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S9104 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2111 in Figure 2 and other related parts of the embodiment involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0567] The communication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S9101 to S9104. For example, step S9101 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S9102 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and steps S9101, S9102, S9103, and S9104 may be implemented as independent embodiments, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0568] In some embodiments, steps S9101 and S9102 may be executed in an interchanged order or simultaneously.

[0569] In some embodiments, step S9101, step S9102, and step S9103 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0570] In some embodiments, step S9101, step S9102, and step S9104 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0571] In some embodiments, step S9101, step S9103, and step S9104 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0572] In some embodiments, step S9102, step S9103, and step S9104 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0573] FIG9B is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG9B , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method, and the method includes:

[0574] Step S9201, receiving the policy.

[0575] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S9201 can refer to the optional implementation of steps S2107 and S2110 in Figure 2, the optional implementation of step S9101 and step S9103 in Figure 9A and other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figures 2 and 9A, which will not be repeated here.

[0576] Step S9202: Send the first confirmation message, and / or send the third confirmation message.

[0577] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S9201 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2108 and step S2111 in Figure 2, the optional implementation of step S9102 and step S9104 in Figure 9A and other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figures 2 and 9A, which will not be repeated here.

[0578] In some embodiments, steps S9201 and S9202 may be executed in an interchanged order or simultaneously.

[0579] In some embodiments, step S9201 is optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0580] In some embodiments, step S9202 is optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0581] FIG9C is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG9C , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method, which includes:

[0582] Step S9301, receiving the policy.

[0583] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S9201 can refer to the optional implementation of steps S2107, S2110, S2108, and S2111 of Figure 2, the optional implementation of steps S9101 to S9104 of Figure 9A, step S9201 and S9202 of Figure 9B, and other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figures 2, 9A, and 9B, which will not be repeated here.

[0584] In some embodiments, the policy is determined based on the A-IoT policy change decision of the environmental Internet of Things device, and the A-IoT policy change decision is triggered and determined by the third network element subscribing to the second information. The second information is obtained by the first network element mapping the external information to internal information when the first information includes external information. The first information is used to change the A-IoT related policies.

[0585] In some embodiments, when the A-IoT device receives an A-IoT policy sent by the fourth network element to the A-IoT through the access network, the method further includes: sending a first confirmation message to the fourth network element, the first confirmation message being used to identify the confirmation of the result of the A-IoT performing an A-IoT-related policy change, and the first confirmation message being used to identify the confirmation of the result of the A-IoT performing an A-IoT-related policy change.

[0586] In some embodiments, when receiving a policy sent by a terminal, the method further includes: sending a third confirmation message to the terminal, identifying the confirmation of the result of A-IoT performing the A-IoT-related policy change, the third confirmation message including at least one of the following: the result of the A-IoT policy change; the reason for the failure of the A-IoT policy change; the A-IoT identifier; the group identifier of the A-IoT; the association relationship between the terminal and the A-IoT; and the association identifier between the terminal and the A-IoT.

[0587] Figure 10 is an interactive diagram illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 10 , a communication method is proposed, including the following steps.

[0588] In step S10101 , the AF 101 sends first information to the first network element 102 .

[0589] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S10101 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2101 in Figure 2, as well as other related parts in the embodiment involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0590] In step S10102, the first network element 102 authorizes the first information.

[0591] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S10102 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2102 in Figure 2, as well as other related parts in the embodiment involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0592] In step S10103 , the first network element 102 sends second information to the second network element 107 .

[0593] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S10103 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2103 in Figure 2, as well as other related parts in the embodiment involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0594] In step S10104 , the second network element 107 sends a first message to the third network element 108 .

[0595] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S10104 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2105 in Figure 2, as well as other related parts in the embodiment involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0596] In step S10105 , the third network element 108 sends a policy to the fourth network element 105 .

[0597] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S10105 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2106 in Figure 2, as well as other related parts of the embodiment involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0598] In step S10106 , the fourth network element 105 sends a policy to the terminal 103 .

[0599] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S10106 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2109 in Figure 2, as well as other related parts of the embodiment involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0600] In step S10107 , the fourth network element 105 sends the policy to the A-IoT 104 .

[0601] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S10107 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2110 in Figure 2, as well as other related parts of the embodiment involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0602] In step S10108 , the terminal 103 sends the policy to the A-IoT 104 .

[0603] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S10108 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2107 in Figure 2, as well as other related parts of the embodiment involved in Figure 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0604] In some embodiments, the present disclosure also proposes a communication method for implementing A-IoT-related policy changes.

[0605] FIG11A is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG11A , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method, and the method includes:

[0606] In step S11101, the first information is sent.

[0607] In some embodiments, the AF decides to add / modify / delete filtering criteria or policies for A-IoT devices and / or UEs and sends a message (i.e., a first message) to the NEF. Regardless of whether there are existing criteria / policies, the AF can add new criteria / policies; modify criteria / policies; or delete existing criteria / policies.

[0608] For example, the AF may send Nnef_ServiceParameter_Create, Nnef_ServiceParameter_Update, or Nnef_ServiceParameter_Delete services to the NEF to request to add / modify / delete the filtering criteria or policies of the A-IoT device.

[0609] In some embodiments, the first information may include at least one of the following: AF information (e.g., AF ID), device information (e.g., UE ID, A-Io TID, group ID, and mapping thereof), standard or policy information (e.g., standard or policy ID (e.g., transaction reference ID), content (e.g., time information, location information, operation information).

[0610] The time information may include at least one of the following: life cycle, availability time, unavailability time and periodic operation frequency of the UE and / or surrounding IoT devices.

[0611] The location information may include at least one of the following: an allowed / disallowed tracking area, an allowed / non-prohibited paging area, and a maximum communication range.

[0612] The association information may further include at least one of the following: a candidate RAN or a candidate UE list having an environmental IoT service with supported operations.

[0613] Operation information may include at least one of the following: an operation list (e.g., read, write, disable, discover, list, command, periodic list, event report), whether each operation is allowed, and the threshold parameters for each operation. Event reports indicate events that the ambient IoT or UE needs to report to the CN and / or AF. Possible events include location change events, associated UE / RAN change events, state change events (possible states: connected state (messages can be sent), idle state (paging can be performed), disabled state (paging cannot be performed)), threshold change events, topology change events, etc.

[0614] In step S11102, authorization and mapping.

[0615] In some embodiments, the NEF may authorize the AF's request. If the information provided by the AF is external information, the NEF shall map the external AF information, device information, location information, time information, standard or policy information to the internal AF information, device information, location information, time information, standard or policy information.

[0616] Optionally, NEF may further interact with Unified Data Management (UDM) to retrieve internal information.

[0617] In step S11103, store to UDR.

[0618] In some embodiments, the NEF interacts with the UDR. To add / modify / delete filtering criteria or policies, the NEF stores (for add and modify cases) or deletes (for delete cases) the AF request information in the UDR. For example, if the NEF receives a Nnef_ServiceParameter_Create or Update message, the NEF stores the request information (AF information, device information, location information, time information, criteria or policy information) as "application data" (with a subset of data set to "service specific information") in the UDR using the criteria or policy ID (e.g., transaction reference ID). If the NEF receives a Nnef_ServiceParameter_delete message, the NEF deletes the request information using the criteria or policy ID (e.g., transaction reference ID).

[0619] In step S11104, a first response message is sent.

[0620] In some embodiments, the NEF responds to the AF. The NEF sends an Nnef_ServiceParameter_Create / Update / Delete response (ie, the first response message) to the AF, and the response information includes a standard or policy ID (eg, a transaction reference ID) and the result of storing / updating / moving information in the UDR.

[0621] In step S11105, the third information is sent.

[0622] In some embodiments, the UDR sends a Nudr_DM_Notify data change notification (ie, the third message) to the PCF to inform the AF of the change in the data requested in the UDR (eg, application-specific information). It should be noted that the PCF has subscribed to the UDR DM service in the previous procedure.

[0623] In step S11106, the policy is sent.

[0624] In some embodiments, triggered by a notification from the UDR, the PCF decides to update the policy of the UE and / or Ambient IoT device. For example, the PCF sends a Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer message to the AMF, including the updated policy of the UE and / or Ambient IoT device. The PCF may also provide internal information to the AMF, including AF information, device information, location information, time information, and policy information.

[0625] In step S11107, the policy is sent.

[0626] In some embodiments, the AMF sends the standards of the ambient IoT device and / or UE, as well as optional information (AF information, device information, location information, time information) to the target A-IoT through the RAN node.

[0627] In step S11108, the first confirmation information is sent.

[0628] In some embodiments, the A-IoT device sends the policy result or confirmation (ie, confirmation information) to the AMF through the RAN node.

[0629] In step S11109, the policy is sent.

[0630] In some embodiments, the AMF sends policies and standards and optional information to the UE and / or ambient IoT devices by sending a DL NAS TRANSPORT message.

[0631] Optionally, the UE may update its own policy based on the received policy (eg, create, update, and delete policies and criteria to update policies).

[0632] In step S11110 (optional), the policy is sent.

[0633] In some embodiments, if the received message includes criteria / policies for Ambient IoT devices, or if the received message only includes criteria / policies for the UE, and the UE decides to inform Ambient IoT of the policies and criteria, the UE can broadcast or send the criteria / policies and optional information (AF information, device information, location information, time information) to the target A-IoT device based on the information received from the AMF. Otherwise, this step is skipped. The Ambient IoT device updates the policy (if broadcast, it is updated when the information matches).

[0634] In step S11111, the third confirmation information is sent.

[0635] In some embodiments, if step S11110 is executed, the A-IoT may choose to send an ACK (ie, third confirmation information) to the UE to inform the confirmation of the policy.

[0636] In step S11112, the second confirmation information is sent.

[0637] In some embodiments, the UE sends a UL NAS TRANSPORT message (i.e., a second confirmation message) to the AMF to inform the UE of the policy delivery result or policy confirmation. If step S11111 is performed, the message may also include the policy delivery result and confirmation of the standards / policies of the ambient IoT devices.

[0638] In step S11113, a fourth response message is sent.

[0639] In some embodiments, the AMF forwards the response of the UE and / or Ambient IoT device to the PCF using Namf_Communication_N1MessageNotify. The message may include internal device information (UE ID, Ambient IoT ID, Group ID and their mapping), policy / standard ID, and the results of the Ambient IoT device and / or UE.

[0640] In step S11114, a fourth response message is sent.

[0641] In some embodiments, if the AF subscribes to notifications about UE policy delivery results, the PCF includes the policy delivery results of the environmental IoT devices and / or UE contained in the UE policy container, and includes the device information and policy ID to the NEF by sending Npcf_EventExposure_Notify (that is, the fourth response message).

[0642] In step S11115, mapping is performed.

[0643] In some embodiments, the NEF may map internal device information and policy / standard IDs to external device information and policy / standard IDs, if needed, which may include further interaction with the UDM.

[0644] In step S11116, a second response message is sent.

[0645] In some embodiments, the NEF sends a notification to the AF to inform it of the policy / standard delivery result. The NEF sends Nnef_ServiceParameter_Notify (i.e., the second response message) to the AF, which includes the external device information and the policy ID, as well as the policy / standard delivery result for the Ambient IoT device and / or UE.

[0646] In some embodiments, the present disclosure also proposes a communication method for implementing A-IoT-related policy changes.

[0647] FIG11B is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG11B , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method, and the method includes:

[0648] In step S11201, the first information is sent.

[0649] [Corrected 06.05.2024 according to Rule 91] In some embodiments, the AF sends to the A-IoT controller: The AF decides to add / modify / delete the filtering criteria or policy of the A-IoT device and / or UE, and sends a request to the A-IoT controller. The request message includes AF information (such as AF ID), device information (such as UEID, A-IoTID, group ID and their mapping), criteria or policy information (such as criteria or policy ID (such as transaction reference ID), content (such as time information, location information, operation information).

[0650] In step S11202, the policy is sent.

[0651] [Corrected 06.05.2024 per Rule 91] In some embodiments, the A-IoT controller authorizes requests from the AF and maps external information to internal information. Based on the request, the A-IoT controller creates / updates / deletes policies / standards for the Ambient IoT device and / or UE. The A-IoT controller sends the updated policies / standards and optional mapping information to the UE and / or A-IoT device.

[0652] In some embodiments, the A-IoT controller sends to the UE: updated policy and optional mapping information.

[0653] In step S11203, the policy is sent.

[0654] [Corrected 06.05.2024 according to Rule 91] In some embodiments, the UE sends an update policy to the A-IoT and optionally maps the information. The UE can use a broadcast message or send the information to a specific A-IoT device. The A-IoT device updates the policy / criteria (update when broadcast, update when information matches, if information is broadcast).

[0655] In step S11204, the policy is sent.

[0656] In some embodiments, the A-IoT controller sends an update policy to the A-IoT and may optionally map the information.

[0657] In step S11205, a fourth response is sent.

[0658] In some embodiments, A-IoT sends an update policy ACK message (device information, event information, result) to the UE.

[0659] In step S11206, a second response is sent.

[0660] In some embodiments, the UE sends to the A-IoT controller: update policy response information (device information, event information, results). The UE can collect and filter ACKs from A-IoT devices.

[0661] In step S11207, a third response message is sent.

[0662] In some embodiments, the A-IoT sends an update policy ACK message (device information, event information, results) to the A-IoT controller.

[0663] In step S11208, a first response message is sent.

[0664] In some embodiments, the A-IoT controller maps internal device information, event information, and results to external device information, event information, and results.

[0665] The embodiments of the present disclosure further provide an apparatus for implementing any of the above methods. For example, an apparatus is provided, comprising units or modules for implementing each step performed by a terminal in any of the above methods. For another example, another apparatus is provided, comprising units or modules for implementing each step performed by a network device (e.g., an access network device, a core network function node, a core network device, etc.) in any of the above methods.

[0666] It should be understood that the division of the various units or modules in the above device is merely a division of logical functions. In actual implementation, they may be fully or partially integrated into a physical entity, or they may be physically separated. In addition, the units or modules in the device may be implemented in the form of a processor calling software: for example, the device includes a processor, the processor is connected to a memory, and the memory stores instructions. The processor calls the instructions stored in the memory to implement any of the above methods or implement the functions of the various units or modules of the above device, wherein the processor is, for example, a general-purpose processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU) or a microprocessor, and the memory is a memory within the device or a memory outside the device. Alternatively, the units or modules in the device can be implemented in the form of hardware circuits, and the functions of some or all of the units or modules can be realized by designing the hardware circuits. The above-mentioned hardware circuits can be understood as one or more processors; for example, in one implementation, the above-mentioned hardware circuit is an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), which realizes the functions of some or all of the above units or modules by designing the logical relationship of the components in the circuit; for example, in another implementation, the above-mentioned hardware circuit can be realized by a programmable logic device (PLD). Taking a field programmable gate array (FPGA) as an example, it can include a large number of logic gate circuits, and the connection relationship between the logic gate circuits is configured by configuring the configuration file, thereby realizing the functions of some or all of the above units or modules. All units or modules of the above devices can be realized in the form of software called by the processor, or in the form of hardware circuits, or in part by the form of software called by the processor, and the rest by hardware circuits.

[0667] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the processor is a circuit with signal processing capabilities. In one implementation, the processor can be a circuit with instruction reading and execution capabilities, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a graphics processing unit (GPU) (which can be understood as a microprocessor), or a digital signal processor (DSP). In another implementation, the processor can implement certain functions through the logical relationship of the hardware circuit. The logical relationship of the above-mentioned hardware circuit is fixed or reconfigurable. For example, the processor is a hardware circuit implemented by an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a programmable logic device (PLD), such as an FPGA. In a reconfigurable hardware circuit, the process of the processor loading a configuration document and implementing the hardware circuit configuration can be understood as the process of the processor loading instructions to implement the functions of some or all of the above units or modules. In addition, it can also be a hardware circuit designed for artificial intelligence, which can be understood as an ASIC, such as a neural network processing unit (NPU), a tensor processing unit (TPU), a deep learning processing unit (DPU), etc.

[0668] Figure 12A is a schematic diagram of the structure of the AF proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 12A, AF12100 may include: a transceiver module 12101, which is used to send first information to a first network element, and the first information is used to change the policy related to the environmental Internet of Things device A-IoT. Optionally, the above-mentioned transceiver module 12101 is used to perform at least one of the communication steps such as sending and / or receiving performed by AF 101 in any of the above methods (for example, step S2101, step S2104, step S2116 but not limited thereto), which will not be repeated here.

[0669] In some embodiments, the first information is used to perform at least one of the following policy changes: adding a policy; updating a policy; deleting a policy.

[0670] In some embodiments, the first information is used to perform at least one of the following policy changes: adding a policy; updating a policy; deleting a policy.

[0671] In some embodiments, the first information includes at least one of the following: AF identification; device information; policy identification; policy content information; application layer message; wherein the device information includes at least one of the following: terminal identification; A-IoT identification; A-IoT group identification; association relationship between the terminal and A-IoT; association identification between the terminal and A-IoT; policy identification includes at least one of the following: service reference identification; policy content information includes at least one of the following: time information; location information; association information; operation information; the application layer message is application layer information related to the policy provided by the AF; wherein the time information includes at least one of the following: terminal life cycle; A-IoT life cycle; terminal availability time; A-IoT availability time; terminal unavailability time; A-IoT unavailability time; terminal periodic operation frequency; A- The periodic operation frequency of IoT; the start time of periodic operation; the end time of periodic operation; the location information includes at least one of the following: allowed tracking area; disallowed tracking area; allowed paging area; disallowed paging area; maximum communication range; the operation information includes at least one of the following: an operation list; an operation threshold; allowed operations; disallowed operations; wherein the operation list includes at least one of the following: read and write operations; write operations; disable operations; discovery operations; inventory operations; control operations; periodic inventory operations; event reporting operations; the event reporting operation is used to indicate at least one of the following: events that A-IoT needs to report to the core network device; events that A-IoT needs to report to the AF; wherein the events include at least one of the following: location change events; associated terminal change events; state change events; threshold change events; topology change events.

[0672] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 12101 is also used to receive a first response message of the first information sent by the first network element, and the first response message is used to indicate the result of the change processing performed by the first network element on the first information, and the change processing includes at least one of the following: authorizing the first information; when the first information includes external information, mapping the external information into internal information to obtain second information, and interacting with the second network element so that the second network element stores the second information.

[0673] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 12101 is also used to receive a second response message sent by the first network element, where the second response message is used to identify the result of the terminal performing an A-IoT-related policy change, and / or to identify the result of the A-IoT performing an A-IoT-related policy change, and includes at least one of the following: the result of the A-IoT policy change; the result of the terminal performing an A-IoT policy change; the reason for the failure of the A-IoT policy change; the reason for the failure of the terminal to perform an A-IoT policy change; and device information.

[0674] Figure 12B is a structural diagram of the first network element proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 12B, the first network element 12200 may include: a transceiver module 12201, and a processing module 12202, wherein the transceiver module 12201 is used to receive the first information sent by the application function AF, and the first information is used to change the policy related to the environmental Internet of Things device A-IoT. Optionally, the above-mentioned transceiver module 12201 is used to execute at least one of the communication steps such as sending and / or receiving performed by the first network element 102 in any of the above methods (for example, step S2101, step S2104, step S2103, step S2104 but not limited to this), which will not be repeated here. Among them, the processing module 12202 is used to authorize the first information, and when the first information includes external information, map the external information to internal information to obtain the second information.

[0675] In some embodiments, the first information is used to change A-IoT-related policies.

[0676] In some embodiments, the first information is used to perform at least one of the following policy changes: adding a policy; updating a policy; deleting a policy.

[0677] In some embodiments, the first information includes at least one of the following: AF identification; device information; policy identification; policy content information; application layer message; wherein the device information includes at least one of the following: terminal identification; A-IoT identification; group identification between the terminal and A-IoT; association relationship between the terminal and A-IoT; policy information includes at least one of the following: policy identification; service reference identification; content information includes at least one of the following: time information; location information; association information; operation information; application layer message is application layer information related to the policy, and the policy is determined based on the policy identification and / or policy content information; wherein the time information includes at least one of the following: terminal life cycle; A-IoT life cycle; terminal availability time; A-IoT availability time; terminal unavailability time; A-IoT unavailability time; terminal periodic operation Frequency; periodic operation frequency of A-IoT; start time of periodic operation; end time of periodic operation; location information includes at least one of the following: allowed tracking area; disallowed tracking area; allowed paging area; disallowed paging area; maximum communication range; operation information includes at least one of the following: operation list; operation threshold; allowed operation; disallowed operation; wherein, the operation list includes at least one of the following: read and write operation; write operation; disable operation; discovery operation; inventory operation; control operation; periodic inventory operation; event reporting operation; event reporting operation is used to indicate at least one of the following: events that A-IoT needs to report to the core network device; events that A-IoT needs to report to AF; wherein, the events include at least one of the following: location change event; associated terminal change event; state change event; threshold change event; topology change event.

[0678] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 12201 is also used to send a first response message of the first information to the AF, and the first response message is used to identify the result of the change processing performed by the first network element on the first information, and the change processing includes at least one of the following: authorizing the first information; when the first information includes external information, mapping the external information into internal information to obtain second information, and interacting with the second network element so that the second network element stores the second information.

[0679] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 12201 is also used to receive a third response message sent by a third network element, where the third response message is used to identify the result of the terminal performing an A-IoT-related policy change, and / or to identify the result of the A-IoT performing an A-IoT-related policy change, and the third response message includes at least one of the following: the result of the A-IoT policy change, the result of the terminal performing an A-IoT policy change, the reason for the failure of the A-IoT policy change; the reason for the failure of the terminal to perform an A-IoT policy change; device information, wherein the device information includes at least one of the following: terminal identification; A-IoT identification; A-IoT group identification; the association relationship between the terminal and A-IoT; and the association identification between the terminal and A-IoT.

[0680] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 12201 is further used to send a second response message to the AF, where the second response message includes at least one of the following: an A-IoT policy change result; and a result of the terminal performing the A-IoT policy change.

[0681] In some embodiments, when the second response message includes external device information, the processing module 12202 first network element maps the internal information to external information, and the internal information includes at least one of the following: device information; policy identifier; the external information includes at least one of the following: external device information; external policy identifier.

[0682] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 12201 is also used to receive a third response message sent by a third network element, where the third response message is used to identify the result of the terminal performing an A-IoT-related policy change, and / or to identify the result of the A-IoT performing the A-IoT-related policy change.

[0683] In some embodiments, when the second response message includes external device information, the processing module 12202 is also used to map internal information into external information, the internal information including at least one of the following: device information; policy identifier; the external information including at least one of the following: external device information; external policy identifier.

[0684] Figure 12C is a structural diagram of the first network element proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 12C, the second network element 12300 may include: a transceiver module 12301, and a processing module 12302, wherein the transceiver module 12301 is used to receive the second information sent by the first network element, wherein the second information is obtained by the first network element mapping the external information to internal information when there is external information in the first information, and the second information is used to determine the A-IoT policy change decision, and the first information is used to change the policy related to the environmental Internet of Things device A-IoT. Optionally, the above-mentioned transceiver module 12301 is used to execute at least one of the communication steps such as sending and / or receiving (for example, step S2101, step S2104, step S2105 but not limited to this) performed by the second network element 107 in any of the above methods, which will not be repeated here. Wherein, the processing module 12302 is used to store the second information.

[0685] In some embodiments, the second information is obtained by the first network element mapping the external information into internal information when there is external information in the first information. The second information is used to determine the A-IoT policy change decision, and the first information is used to change the policy related to the environmental Internet of Things device A-IoT.

[0686] In some embodiments, the processing module 12302 is also used to send a first message to the third network element when the third network element subscribes to the second information, and to notify the third network element of changes in the second information so that the third network element can determine an A-IoT policy change decision. The A-IoT policy change decision is used to change the terminal's policy and / or change the A-IoT's policy.

[0687] Figure 12D is a schematic diagram of the structure of a third network element proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 12D, third network element 12400 may include a transceiver module 12401 for receiving a first message sent by the second network element. Optionally, transceiver module 12401 is configured to perform at least one of the communication steps (e.g., steps S2105, S2106, S2113, and S2114, but not limited thereto) performed by third network element 108 in any of the above methods, and will not be further described herein.

[0688] In some embodiments, the method is also used to send a first message to a third network element when the third network element subscribes to the second information, and is used to notify the third network element of changes in the second information so that the third network element determines an A-IoT policy change decision. The A-IoT policy change decision is used to change the terminal's policy and / or change the A-IoT's policy.

[0689] Figure 12E is a structural diagram of the fourth network element proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 12E, the fourth network element 12500 may include: a transceiver module 12501 for receiving the policy sent by the third network element, and sending the policy to the A-IoT, or sending the policy to the terminal. Optionally, the above-mentioned transceiver module 12501 is used to execute at least one of the communication steps such as sending and / or receiving performed by the fourth network element 104 in any of the above methods (for example, step S2106, step S2107, step S2108, step S2109, step S2112, step S2113 but not limited thereto), which will not be repeated here.

[0690] In some embodiments, the first message is triggered when the third network element subscribes to the second information, and is used to notify the third network element that the second information has changed, so that the third network element determines the A-IoT policy change decision of the environmental Internet of Things device based on the second information. The A-IoT policy change decision is used to change the policy of the terminal and / or change the policy of A-IoT. The A-IoT policy change decision is determined based on the second information. The A-IoT policy change decision is used to change the policy of the terminal and / or change the policy of A-IoT. The second information is the first information obtained by mapping external information to internal information. The first information is used to change the policy related to the environmental Internet of Things device A-IoT.

[0691] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 12501 is further used to send a policy to the fourth network element, where the policy is determined based on the A-IoT policy change decision.

[0692] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 12501 is also used to receive a fourth response message sent by a fourth network element, the fourth response message is used to identify the result of the terminal performing an A-IoT-related policy change, and / or to identify the result of the A-IoT performing an A-IoT-related policy change, the fourth response message includes at least one of the following: the result of the A-IoT policy change; the result of the terminal performing an A-IoT policy change; the reason for the failure of the A-IoT policy change; the reason for the failure of the terminal to perform an A-IoT policy change; device information, wherein the device information includes at least one of the following: terminal identification; A-IoT identification; A-IoT group identification; the association relationship between the terminal and A-IoT; the association identification between the terminal and A-IoT.

[0693] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 12501 is also used to send a third response message to the first network element, the third response message is used to identify the result of the terminal performing an A-IoT-related policy change, and / or to identify the result of the A-IoT performing an A-IoT-related policy change, the third response message includes at least one of the following: the result of the A-IoT policy change; the result of the terminal performing an A-IoT policy change; the reason for the failure of the A-IoT policy change; the reason for the failure of the terminal to perform an A-IoT policy change; device information, wherein the device information includes at least one of the following: terminal identification; A-IoT identification; A-IoT group identification; the association relationship between the terminal and A-IoT; the association identification between the terminal and A-IoT.

[0694] Figure 12F is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 12F, terminal 12600 may include a transceiver module 12601 for receiving a policy sent by a fourth network element. Optionally, transceiver module 12601 is configured to execute at least one of the communication steps (e.g., steps S2109, S2110, S2111, and S2112, but not limited thereto) performed by terminal 103 in any of the above methods, and will not be further described herein.

[0695] In some embodiments, the terminal further includes a processing module configured to update the policy of the terminal to the policy sent by the fourth network element.

[0696] In some embodiments, when the A-IoT policy change decision is used to change the policy of the A-IoT, the transceiver module 12601 is used to send the policy sent by the fourth network element to the A-IoT; when the A-IoT policy change decision is used to change the policy of the terminal, and the A-IoT policy change decision is used to change the policy of the A-IoT, the transceiver module 12601 is used to send the policy sent by the fourth network element to the A-IoT.

[0697] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 12601 is used to receive third confirmation information sent by the A-IoT device, and the third confirmation information is used to identify the confirmation of the result of the A-IoT performing the A-IoT-related policy change.

[0698] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 12601 is used to send second confirmation information to the fourth network element, where the second confirmation information is used to identify the confirmation of the result of the terminal performing an A-IoT-related policy change.

[0699] Figure 12G is a schematic diagram of the structure of the A-IoT proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 12G, the A-IoT 12700 may include: a transceiver module 12701, and a processing module 12702. The transceiver module 12701 is used to receive the A-IoT policy sent by the fourth network element, or the policy sent by the receiving terminal. The processing module 12702 is used to update the policy based on the policy. Optionally, the above-mentioned transceiver module 12701 is used to execute at least one of the communication steps such as sending and / or receiving performed by the A-IoT 104 in any of the above methods (for example, step S2107, step S2108, step S2110, step S2111 but not limited to this), which will not be repeated here.

[0700] In some embodiments, the policy is determined based on the A-IoT policy change decision of the environmental Internet of Things device, and the A-IoT policy change decision is triggered and determined by the third network element subscribing to the second information. The second information is obtained by the first network element mapping the external information to internal information when the first information includes external information. The first information is used to change the A-IoT related policies.

[0701] In some embodiments, when the A-IoT device receives an A-IoT policy sent by the fourth network element to the A-IoT through the access network, the transceiver module 12701 is also used to send a first confirmation message to the fourth network element. The first confirmation message is used to identify the confirmation of the result of the A-IoT-related policy change. The first confirmation message includes at least one of the following: the result of the A-IoT policy change; the reason for the failure of the A-IoT policy change.

[0702] In some embodiments, when receiving a policy sent by a terminal, the transceiver module 12701 is also used to send a third confirmation message to the terminal, and the third confirmation message is used to identify the confirmation of the result of the A-IoT performing an A-IoT-related policy change. The third confirmation message includes at least one of the following: the result of the A-IoT policy change; the reason for the failure of the A-IoT policy change; the A-IoT identifier; the group identifier of the A-IoT; the association relationship between the terminal and the A-IoT; and the association identifier between the terminal and the A-IoT.

[0703] Figure 13A is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 13100 proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure. Communication device 13100 can be a network device (e.g., an access network device, a core network device, etc.), a terminal (e.g., a user device, etc.), a chip, a chip system, or a processor that supports a network device to implement any of the above methods, or a chip, a chip system, or a processor that supports a terminal to implement any of the above methods. Communication device 13100 can be used to implement the methods described in the above method embodiments. For details, please refer to the description of the above method embodiments.

[0704] As shown in Figure 13A, the communication device 13100 includes one or more processors 13101. The processor 13101 can be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor, for example, a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor can be used to process the communication protocol and communication data, and the central processing unit can be used to control the communication device (such as a base station, a baseband chip, a terminal device, a terminal device chip, a DU or a CU, etc.), execute programs, and process program data. Optionally, the communication device 13100 is used to perform any of the above methods. Optionally, one or more processors 13101 are used to call instructions to enable the communication device 13100 to perform any of the above methods.

[0705] In some embodiments, the communication device 13100 further includes one or more transceivers 13102. When the communication device 13100 includes one or more transceivers 13102, the transceiver 13102 performs at least one of the communication steps such as sending and / or receiving in the above method (for example, step S2101, step S2103, step S2104, but not limited thereto), and the processor 13101 performs at least one of the other steps (for example, step S2102, but not limited thereto). In an optional embodiment, the transceiver may include a receiver and / or a transmitter, and the receiver and transmitter may be separate or integrated. Optionally, the terms transceiver, transceiver unit, transceiver, transceiver circuit, interface circuit, interface, etc. may be interchangeable, the terms transmitter, transmitting unit, transmitter, transmitting circuit, etc. may be interchangeable, and the terms receiver, receiving unit, receiver, receiving circuit, etc. may be interchangeable.

[0706] In some embodiments, the communication device 13100 further includes one or more memories 13103 for storing data. Alternatively, all or part of the memories 13103 may be located outside the communication device 13100. In alternative embodiments, the communication device 13100 may include one or more interface circuits 13104. Optionally, the interface circuits 13104 are connected to the memories 13103 and may be configured to receive data from the memories 13103 or other devices, or to send data to the memories 13103 or other devices. For example, the interface circuits 13104 may read data stored in the memories 13103 and send the data to the processor 13101.

[0707] The communication device 13100 described in the above embodiments may be a network device or a terminal, but the scope of the communication device 13100 described in the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the structure of the communication device 13100 may not be limited by FIG. 9A . The communication device may be an independent device or may be part of a larger device. For example, the communication device may be: 1) an independent integrated circuit IC, or a chip, or a chip system or subsystem; (2) a collection of one or more ICs, optionally, the above IC collection may also include a storage component for storing data or programs; (3) an ASIC, such as a modem; (4) a module that can be embedded in other devices; (5) a receiver, a terminal device, an intelligent terminal device, a cellular phone, a wireless device, a handheld device, a mobile unit, an in-vehicle device, a network device, a cloud device, an artificial intelligence device, etc.; (6) others, etc.

[0708] 13B is a schematic diagram of the structure of a chip 13200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. If the communication device 13100 can be a chip or a chip system, reference can be made to the schematic diagram of the structure of the chip 13200 shown in FIG13B , but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0709] The chip 13200 includes one or more processors 13201. The chip 13200 is configured to execute any of the above methods.

[0710] In some embodiments, chip 13200 further includes one or more interface circuits 13202. Terms such as interface circuit, interface, and transceiver pins may be used interchangeably. In some embodiments, chip 13200 further includes one or more memories 13203 for storing data. Alternatively, all or part of memory 13203 may be located external to chip 13200. Optionally, interface circuit 13202 is connected to memory 13203 and may be configured to receive data from memory 13203 or other devices, or to send data to memory 13203 or other devices. For example, interface circuit 13202 may read data stored in memory 13203 and send the data to processor 13201.

[0711] In some embodiments, the interface circuit 13202 performs at least one of the communication steps (e.g., but not limited to, step S2101) in the above method, such as sending and / or receiving. For example, the interface circuit 13202 performing the communication steps (e.g., sending and / or receiving) in the above method means that the interface circuit 13202 performs data exchange between the processor 13201, the chip 13200, the memory 13203, or the transceiver device. In some embodiments, the processor 13201 performs at least one of the other steps (e.g., but not limited to, step S2102).

[0712] The modules and / or devices described in various embodiments, such as virtual devices, physical devices, and chips, can be arbitrarily combined or separated according to circumstances. Optionally, some or all steps can also be performed collaboratively by multiple modules and / or devices, which is not limited here.

[0713] The present disclosure also proposes a storage medium having instructions stored thereon. When the instructions are executed on the communication device 13100, the communication device 13100 is caused to execute any of the above methods. Optionally, the storage medium is an electronic storage medium. Optionally, the storage medium is a computer-readable storage medium, but is not limited thereto and may also be a storage medium readable by other devices. Optionally, the storage medium may be a non-transitory storage medium, but is not limited thereto and may also be a temporary storage medium.

[0714] The present disclosure also provides a program product, which, when executed by the communication device 13100, enables the communication device 13100 to perform any of the above methods. Optionally, the program product is a computer program product.

[0715] The present disclosure also proposes a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform any one of the above methods.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: The application function AF sends first information to the first network element, where the first information is used to change a policy related to the ambient Internet of Things device A-IoT.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first information is used to perform at least one of the following policy changes: Add a policy; Update strategy; Delete a policy.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The first information includes at least one of the following: AF identification; device information; policy identification; policy content information; application layer message.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The method further comprises: The AF receives a first response message to the first information sent by the first network element, where the first response message is used to identify a result of the change processing performed by the first network element on the first information. The change process includes at least one of the following: authorizing the first information; In the case where the first information includes external information, the external information is mapped into internal information to obtain second information, and the second information is sent to the second network element so that the second network element stores the second information.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The method further comprises: The AF receives a second response message sent by the first network element, where the second response message is used to identify the result of the terminal performing the A-IoT-related policy change and / or to identify the result of the A-IoT performing the A-IoT-related policy change.

6. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: The first network element receives first information sent by the application function AF, where the first information is used to change a policy related to the ambient Internet of Things device A-IoT.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The first information is used to perform at least one of the following policy changes: Add a policy; Update strategy; Delete a policy.

8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that The first information includes at least one of the following: AF identification; device information; policy identification; policy content information; application layer message.

9. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that The method further comprises: Authorizing the first information, and if the first information includes external information, mapping the external information into internal information to obtain second information; The second information is sent to a second network element, so that the second network element stores the second information.

10. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 9, characterized in that The method further comprises: Sending a first response message of the first information to the AF, where the first response message is used to identify a result of the change processing performed by the first network element on the first information; The change process includes at least one of the following: authorizing the first information; In the case where the first information includes external information, the external information is mapped into internal information to obtain second information, and the second information is sent to the second network element so that the second network element stores the second information.

11. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 10, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receive a third response message sent by the third network element, where the third response message is used to identify the result of the terminal performing the A-IoT-related policy change and / or to identify the result of the A-IoT performing the A-IoT-related policy change.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The method further comprises: A second response message is sent to the AF, where the second response message is used to identify the result of the terminal performing the A-IoT-related policy change and / or to identify the result of the A-IoT performing the A-IoT-related policy change.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that In a case where the second response message includes external device information, the method further includes: The first network element maps internal information to external information, where the internal information includes at least one of the following: device information; a policy identifier; and the external information includes at least one of the following: external device information; an external policy identifier.

14. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Receive second information sent by the first network element and store the second information, wherein the second information is obtained by mapping the first information from external information to internal information, the second information is used to determine the A-IoT policy change decision of the environmental Internet of Things device, and the first information is used to change the A-IoT related policy.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The method further comprises: When the third network element subscribes to the second information, a first message is sent to the third network element, where the first message is used to notify the third network element that the second information has changed, so that the third network element determines an A-IoT policy change decision, and the A-IoT policy change decision is used to change the terminal's policy and / or change the A-IoT's policy.

16. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: The third network element receives a first message sent by the second network element, where the first message is triggered by the third network element subscribing to the second information, and the first message is used to notify the third network element of a change in the second information; The third network element determines the A-IoT policy change decision for the environmental Internet of Things device based on the changed second information. The A-IoT policy change decision is used to change the terminal policy and / or change the A-IoT policy. The A-IoT policy change decision is determined based on the second information. The second information is the first information mapped from external information to internal information. The first information is used to change the policy related to the environmental Internet of Things device A-IoT.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that The method further comprises: Send a policy to the fourth network element, where the policy is determined based on the A-IoT policy change decision.

18. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receive a fourth response message sent by the fourth network element, where the fourth response message is used to identify the result of the terminal performing the A-IoT-related policy change and / or to identify the result of the A-IoT performing the A-IoT-related policy change.

19. The method according to claim 16, wherein The method further comprises: A third response message is sent to the first network element, where the third response message is used to identify the result of the terminal performing the A-IoT-related policy change and / or to identify the result of the A-IoT performing the A-IoT-related policy change.

20. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: The fourth network element receives the policy sent by the third network element; The fourth network element sends the policy to the ambient Internet of Things device A-IoT, or sends the policy to the terminal; In which, the strategy is determined based on the A-IoT strategy change decision, and the A-IoT strategy change decision is triggered and determined by the situation where the third network element subscribes to the second information. The A-IoT strategy change decision is used to change the strategy of the terminal and / or change the strategy of the A-IoT. The second information is the first information mapped from external information to internal information, and the first information is used to change the A-IoT-related strategy.

21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receiving first confirmation information sent by the A-IoT, where the first confirmation information is used to identify confirmation of a result of the A-IoT performing the policy change related to the A-IoT; A fourth response message is sent to the third network element, where the fourth response message is used to identify the result of the terminal performing the A-IoT-related policy change and / or to identify the result of the A-IoT performing the A-IoT-related policy change.

22. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that The method further comprises: receiving second confirmation information sent by the terminal, where the second confirmation information is used to identify confirmation of a result of the terminal performing an A-IoT-related policy change; A fourth response message is sent to the third network element, where the fourth response message is used to identify the result of the terminal performing an A-IoT-related policy change and / or to identify the result of the A-IoT performing an A-IoT-related policy change.

23. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: The terminal receives the policy sent by the fourth network element, In which, the strategy is determined based on the A-IoT strategy change decision of the environmental Internet of Things device, and the A-IoT strategy change decision is triggered and determined by the situation where the third network element subscribes to the second information. The A-IoT strategy change decision is used to change the strategy of the terminal and / or change the strategy of the A-IoT. The second information is the first information mapped from external information to internal information to obtain the first information, and the first information is used to change the A-IoT-related strategy.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein The method further comprises: The policy of the terminal is updated to the policy sent by the fourth network element.

25. The method according to claim 24, characterized in that The method further comprises at least one of the following: In response to the A-IoT policy change decision being used to change the policy of the A-IoT, sending the policy sent by the fourth network element to the A-IoT; In response to the A-IoT policy change decision being used to change the policy of the terminal, and the A-IoT policy change decision being used to change the policy of the A-IoT, the policy sent by the fourth network element is sent to the A-IoT.

26. The method according to claim 23, wherein The method further comprises: Receive third confirmation information sent by the A-IoT device, where the third confirmation information is used to identify the confirmation of the result of the A-IoT performing the A-IoT-related policy change.

27. The method according to claim 23, characterized in that The method further comprises: Sending second confirmation information to the fourth network element, where the second confirmation information is used to identify the confirmation of the result of the terminal performing the A-IoT-related policy change.

28. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: The A-IoT device receives the A-IoT policy of the environmental Internet of Things device sent by the fourth network element, or receives the policy sent by the terminal; performing a policy update based on the policy; In which, the strategy is determined based on the A-IoT strategy change decision, and the A-IoT strategy change decision is triggered and determined when the third network element subscribes to the second information. The A-IoT strategy change decision is used to change the strategy of the terminal and / or change the strategy of the A-IoT. The second information is the first information mapped from external information to internal information, and the first information is used to change the A-IoT-related strategy.

29. The method according to claim 28, characterized in that When the A-IoT device receives the A-IoT policy sent by the fourth network element to the A-IoT through the access network, the method further includes: Sending first confirmation information to the fourth network element, where the first confirmation information is used to identify the confirmation of the result of the A-IoT performing the A-IoT-related policy change.

30. The method according to claim 28, wherein In the case of receiving a policy sent by a terminal, the method further includes: Sending third confirmation information to the terminal, where the third confirmation information is used to identify the confirmation of the result of the A-IoT performing the A-IoT-related policy change.

31. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: The application function AF sends first information to the first network element, where the first information is used to change a policy related to the ambient Internet of Things device A-IoT; The first network element receives first information sent by the application function AF; The first network element authorizes the first information and, if the first information includes external information, maps the external information into internal information to obtain second information, where the second information is used to determine a policy change decision for an A-IoT device of the ambient Internet of Things, and sends the second information to the second network element; The second network element receives and stores the second information; When the third network element subscribes to the second information, the second network element sends a first message to the third network element, and is used to notify the third network element that the second information has changed, so that the third network element determines an A-IoT policy change decision for an ambient Internet of Things device based on the second information, and the A-IoT policy change decision is used to change a policy of the terminal and / or change a policy of the A-IoT; The third network element sends the policy to the fourth network element; The fourth network element receives the policy and sends the policy to the A-IoT, or sends the policy to the terminal; In a case where the fourth network element sends the policy to the terminal, the terminal receives the policy, and in response to the A-IoT policy change decision being used to change the policy of the A-IoT, the terminal sends the policy to the A-IoT; in response to the A-IoT policy change decision being used to change the policy of the terminal, and the A-IoT policy change decision being used to change the policy of the A-IoT, the terminal sends the policy to the A-IoT; When the fourth network element sends the policy to the A-IoT, the A-IoT receives the policy and performs policy update based on the policy; When the terminal sends the policy to the A-IoT, the A-IoT receives the policy and performs policy update based on the policy.

32. An application function entity AF, characterized in that: The AF includes: The transceiver module is used to send first information to the first network element, where the first information is used to change the policy related to the ambient Internet of Things device A-IoT.

33. A first network element, characterized in that: The first network element includes: The transceiver module is used to send first information to the first network element, where the first information is used to change the policy related to the ambient Internet of Things device A-IoT.

34. A second network element, characterized in that: The second network element includes: a transceiver module, configured to receive second information sent by the first network element, wherein the second information is obtained by mapping the first information from external information to internal information, the second information is used to determine a policy change decision for an A-IoT device, and the first information is used to change a policy related to the A-IoT device; A processing module is configured to store the second information.

35. A third network element, characterized in that: The third network element includes: a transceiver module, configured to receive a first message sent by a second network element, where the first message is triggered by a situation in which the third network element subscribes to second information, and the first message is used to notify a change in the second information; The third network element determines the A-IoT policy change decision for the environmental Internet of Things device based on the changed second information. The A-IoT policy change decision is used to change the terminal policy and / or change the A-IoT policy. The A-IoT policy change decision is determined based on the second information. The second information is the first information mapped from external information to internal information. The first information is used to change the policy related to the environmental Internet of Things device A-IoT.

36. A fourth network element, characterized in that: The fourth network element includes: A transceiver module, configured to receive a policy sent by a third network element, and send the policy to the ambient Internet of Things device A-IoT, or send the policy to the terminal; In which, the strategy is determined based on the A-IoT policy change decision, and the A-IoT policy change decision is triggered and determined by the situation where the third network element subscribes to the second information. The A-IoT policy change decision is used to change the policy of the terminal and / or change the policy of the A-IoT. The second information is the first information mapped from external information to internal information, and the first information is used for A-IoT-related policies.

37. A terminal, characterized in that: The terminal includes: A transceiver module, configured to receive a policy sent by a third network element and send the policy to the A-IoT, or send the policy to the terminal; Among them, the strategy is determined based on the A-IoT strategy change decision of the environmental Internet of Things device, and the A-IoT strategy change decision is triggered and determined by the situation where the third network element subscribes to the second information. The A-IoT strategy change decision is used to change the strategy of the terminal and / or change the strategy of the A-IoT. The second information is the first information mapped from external information to internal information, and the first information is used to change the A-IoT-related strategy.

38. An A-IoT device, characterized in that The A-IoT device includes: a transceiver module, configured to receive an A-IoT policy sent by a fourth network element, or a policy sent by a terminal; A processing module for performing a policy update based on the policy, wherein the policy is determined based on an A-IoT policy change decision, the A-IoT policy change decision is triggered and determined by a third network element subscribing to a second information, and the A-IoT policy change decision is used to change the policy of the terminal and / or change the policy of the A-IoT, the second information is the first information mapped from external information to internal information, and the first information is used to change A-IoT-related policies.

39. An application function entity AF, characterized in that: include: one or more processors; The AF is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

40. A first network element, characterized in that: include: one or more processors; The first network element is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 6 to 13.

41. A second network element, characterized in that: include: one or more processors; The second network element is configured to execute the method according to any one of claims 14 to 15.

42. A third network element, characterized in that: include: one or more processors; The third network element is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 16 to 19.

43. A fourth network element, characterized in that: include: one or more processors; The fourth network element is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 20 to 22.

44. A terminal, characterized in that: include: one or more processors; The terminal is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 23 to 27.

45. An A-IoT device, characterized in that include: one or more processors; Wherein, the A-IoT is used to execute the method described in any one of claims 28 to 30.

46. ​​A communication system, characterized in that The communication system includes an application function AF, a first network element, a second network element, a third network element, a fourth network element, a terminal and an A-IoT, wherein the communication system is configured to execute the method described in claim 31.

47. A storage medium storing instructions, characterized in that: When the instruction is executed on a communication device, the communication device executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, or the method according to any one of claims 6 to 13, or the method according to any one of claims 14 to 15, or the method according to any one of claims 16 to 19, or the method according to any one of claims 20 to 22, or the method according to any one of claims 23 to 27, or the method according to any one of claims 28 to 30.

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