Communication method and apparatus, and storage medium and computer program product

Abstract

A communication method and apparatus, and a storage medium and a computer program product, which are used for enabling a first communication apparatus to stop updating a tracking area and / or a notification area, thereby reducing signaling overheads. In the present application, a first communication apparatus sends first information, wherein the first information is used for indicating a motion trajectory of the first communication apparatus within a future first time period; and the first communication apparatus receives second information, wherein the second information is used for instructing the first communication apparatus to stop updating a tracking area and / or a notification area, and the second information can be determined on the basis of the first information. The first information is used for tracking the first communication apparatus; therefore, after the first communication apparatus stops updating the tracking area and / or the notification area, a second communication apparatus can still track the first communication apparatus on the basis of the first information. In addition, as the first communication apparatus stops updating the tracking area and / or the notification area, the solution can reduce signaling overheads.

Description

A communication method, apparatus, storage medium, and computer program product

[0001] Cross-reference to Related Applications

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese Patent Application No. 202411020336.4, filed on July 29, 2024, and entitled “A communication method, apparatus, storage medium, and computer program product”, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method, apparatus, storage medium, and computer program product. BACKGROUND

[0004] Currently, the 5th generation (5G) new radio (NR) technology is evolving from revision (R) 18 to R19. At the same time, the NR technology has entered the commercial deployment stage from the standardization stage. The NR standard protocol is a wireless communication technology designed for terrestrial cellular network scenarios (terrestrial networks (TN) scenarios), which can provide users with ultra-low latency, ultra-reliability, ultra-high rate, and ultra-quantity connection wireless communication services. Compared with TN communication, non-terrestrial networks (NTN) communication has the characteristics of large coverage area and flexible networking, and can achieve seamless global network coverage. NTN communication includes networking using unmanned aerial vehicles, high-altitude platforms, satellites, and other devices to provide data transmission, voice communication, and other services for user equipment (UE). In TN and / or NTN networks, terminal devices will move, and in order to track the terminal devices, the terminal devices need to frequently initiate tracking area updates in the prior art. However, frequent tracking area updates will result in large signaling overhead, and how to reduce the signaling overhead has become a problem to be solved. SUMMARY

[0005] The present application provides a communication method, apparatus, storage medium, and computer program product for stopping tracking area and / or notification area updates by a first communication device, thereby reducing signaling overhead.

[0006] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be performed by a first communication device. The first communication device can be a non-terrestrial device or a terrestrial device. The first communication device can be a terminal device or a chip system inside the terminal device. The terminal device can be deployed on the ground or in the air. For example, the terminal device can include / be at least one of a satellite, an aircraft, a terminal on the aircraft, a drone, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB)-mobile termination (MT), or a network-controlled repeaters (NCR)-MT. For example, the satellite accesses a parent node or a donor node as an MT (e.g., an IAB-MT or an NCR-MT).

[0007] The first communication device transmits first information. The first information is used to indicate a movement trajectory of the first communication device in a future first time period. The first communication device receives second information. The second information is used to indicate that the first communication device stops updating a region identity. The second information can be determined based on the first information. The first communication device stops updating the region identity. Since the first communication device stops updating the region identity, the scheme can reduce signaling overhead.

[0008] In a possible implementation, the identity of the region is used to track the first communication device. The first information can also be used to track the first communication device. Based on this, after the first communication device stops updating the region identity after receiving the second information, the second communication device can also achieve the purpose of tracking the first communication device according to the first information. It can be seen that the scheme provided in the embodiments of the present application can reduce signaling overhead while meeting the tracking of the first communication device.

[0009] The first communication device stops updating the area identity of the first communication device. The area identity can be used to implement tracking of the first communication device, for example. The area identity can comprise identity of one or more cells, and the area can comprise one or more cells. The granularity and name of the area are not limited in the embodiments of the present application. For example, the area can comprise at least one of an area corresponding to a radio access network notification area (RNA), an area corresponding to a tracking area (TA), or an area corresponding to a tracking area list (TAL). Correspondingly, the area identity can correspond to at least one of an RNA identity (ID), a tracking area code (TAC), a tracking area identity (TAI), or a TAL. The area can also comprise an area defined in the future, or an area with another name in the future. For example, the area can comprise areas corresponding to multiple TALs, or the area can be a newly defined area. For ease of understanding, the subsequent content is described by taking the area identity stopped from being updated by the first communication device as a tracking area and / or a notification area as an example. In the future, the area and the area identity can have other names or definitions.

[0010] In another possible implementation, the first communication device stopping updating the area identity can comprise / replace the first communication device stopping updating a tracking area and / or a notification area of the first communication device. In another possible implementation, the first communication device stopping updating the tracking area and / or the notification area of the first communication device can comprise / replace the first communication device stopping updating at least one of a tracking area code (TAC), a tracking area identity (TAI), a TAL, or an RNA identity (ID) of the first communication device.

[0011] In another possible implementation, the area identity updated by the first communication device can serve to track the first communication device. Since the first communication device stops updating the area identity, the first information in the present application serves to track the first communication device. For example, the second communication device or other communication device can track the first communication device based on the predicted movement trajectory of the first communication device, and then can determine one or more access network devices close to the current location of the first communication device based on the movement trajectory of the first communication device, and then can cause the access network devices to page the first communication device, without the need for all base stations in the network (or without the need for all base stations in a TA, or without the need for all base stations in a TAL, or without the need for all base stations in an RNA) to page the first communication device, so as to reduce the number of paging messages and reduce resource overhead.

[0012] For example, the first communication device can stop updating the tracking area and / or the notification area in response to the second information after receiving the second information. In this way, the first communication device can stop updating the tracking area and / or the notification area based on the triggering of the signaling, and this scheme can facilitate the control of the second communication device on the operation of the first communication device to stop updating the tracking area and / or the notification area. In another aspect, the second communication device can configure whether the first communication device stops updating the tracking area and / or the notification area according to the more real-time, more accurate and more flexible movement trajectory of the first communication device.

[0013] For another example, the first communication device can obtain information indicating a third time point, the third time point being the time point at which the updating of the tracking area and / or the notification area is stopped. The first communication device stops updating the tracking area and / or the notification area of the first communication device at the third time point. In this scheme, the first communication device can stop updating the tracking area and / or the notification area at the third time point after receiving the information indicating the third time point, and this scheme can provide a more accurate time for stopping updating the tracking area and / or the notification area. In another aspect, in this scheme, the first communication device can obtain the third time point in advance, so as to more accurately stop updating the tracking area and / or the notification area. The first communication device can determine the third time point according to a preset rule, or receive information indicating the third time point from other devices. For example, the second communication device can send information indicating the third time point to the first communication device in advance, so that the first communication device receives the information indicating the third time point in advance. The information indicating the third time point and the second information can be carried in the same message or in different two messages.

[0014] In a possible implementation, the first communication apparatus sends third information, where the third information is used to indicate that the first communication apparatus has the capability of obtaining the motion trajectory. Or the first communication apparatus sends fourth information, where the fourth information is used to indicate that the first communication apparatus does not have the capability of obtaining the motion trajectory. This scheme can enable the second communication apparatus to determine the subsequent strategy according to the actual capability of the first communication apparatus, thereby providing a more flexible management scheme for the first communication apparatus, so as to improve the overall communication performance. In another aspect, in this scheme, the second communication apparatus can instruct the first communication apparatus to report the motion trajectory only when it is determined that the first communication apparatus has the capability of reporting the motion trajectory, thereby avoiding the second communication apparatus from instructing the communication apparatus without the capability of reporting the motion trajectory to report the motion trajectory.

[0015] In a possible implementation, the first communication apparatus sends the third information when at least one of the following conditions is met: the error corresponding to the predicted motion trajectory of the first communication apparatus is less than (or not greater than) a second threshold; or the time length of the predicted motion trajectory of the first communication apparatus is greater than (or not less than) a third threshold. The error corresponding to the predicted motion trajectory of the first communication apparatus can be determined according to historical data or preconfigured. The time length of the predicted motion trajectory of the first communication apparatus can be determined according to a preconfigured parameter. In this implementation, the first communication apparatus can report its capability based on the error of the predicted motion trajectory and / or the time length of the predicted motion trajectory, so that the capability reported by the first communication apparatus matches the capability requirement of the second communication apparatus. This scheme can avoid the first communication apparatus from sending the motion trajectory that does not meet the requirement, which can cause the tracking of the first communication apparatus to fail.

[0016] In a possible implementation, the first communication apparatus obtains information used to indicate the second threshold and / or information used to indicate the third threshold. For example, the second threshold and / or the third threshold can be defined by a protocol; for another example, the second threshold and / or the third threshold can be preconfigured at the first communication apparatus side; for yet another example, the second threshold and / or the third threshold can be received by the first communication apparatus side from another apparatus (for example, the second communication apparatus or another communication apparatus).

[0017] In a possible implementation, the first information comprises at least one of: information indicating a ephemeris corresponding to the first communication apparatus; information indicating a position of the first communication apparatus at one or more time instants in the first time period; information indicating a motion trajectory corresponding to the first communication apparatus; or information indicating the first time period. For example, the first information comprises the information indicating the position at one or more time instants, which can reduce the data amount of the first information, and thus save resource overhead. For another example, in the case that the first information comprises the information indicating the ephemeris corresponding to the first communication apparatus, the first communication apparatus can move based on the ephemeris, and thus the second communication apparatus can track the first communication apparatus based on the ephemeris. Since the ephemeris is easy to obtain, this implementation can reduce the complexity of the scheme. For yet another example, the first information comprises the information indicating the first time period, which can enable the second communication apparatus to determine the effective time period of the received motion trajectory, so as to more accurately track the first communication apparatus. This scheme can also avoid the second communication apparatus using a motion trajectory outside the effective time period of the motion trajectory, which can cause the tracking of the first communication apparatus to fail.

[0018] In a possible implementation, in the case that the at least one time instant comprises a plurality of time instants: adjacent two time instants in the plurality of time instants are less than (or not greater than) a fourth threshold, and / or the distance between the positions of the first communication apparatus corresponding to adjacent two time instants in the plurality of time instants is less than (or not greater than) a fifth threshold. In this way, the plurality of positions reported by the first communication apparatus do not correspond to time instants that are too large, and / or the plurality of positions reported by the first communication apparatus do not have a distance that is too large, so as to enable the second communication apparatus to more accurately track the position of the first communication apparatus based on the information.

[0019] In a possible implementation, the information indicating the position of the first communication apparatus at one or more time instants in the first time period comprises at least one of: longitude information, latitude information, or altitude information of the position of the first communication apparatus.

[0020] The first communication apparatus can send the information of the motion trajectory once or multiple times. The first communication apparatus can send the information of the motion trajectory periodically or aperiodically. For example, the first communication apparatus further sends fifth information indicating a motion trajectory in a second time period in the future. The second time period overlaps (for example, partially overlaps or completely overlaps) the first time period, or the second time period does not overlap the first time period.

[0021] The first communication apparatus can send the information of the motion trajectory in various manners, which are described below by way of examples.

[0022] In example one, the first communication device sends the motion trajectory based on the signaling. For example, the first communication device receives information indicating that the first communication device sends the motion trajectory. The first communication device sends the first information in response to the information indicating that the first communication device sends the motion trajectory. In another example, the first communication device receives the sixth information, the sixth information indicating that the first communication device sends the motion trajectory, and the first communication device sends the fifth information in response to the sixth information. In this example, the first communication device receives two times of information indicating that the first communication device sends the motion trajectory, and the first communication device sends the motion trajectory twice respectively.

[0023] In this scheme, the second communication device can indicate the first communication device to report the motion trajectory in the case that the second communication device needs the motion trajectory. This scheme can enable the second communication device to determine whether the first communication device reports the motion trajectory based on actual needs, so that the signaling overhead of the first communication device can be reduced in the case that the needs of the second communication device are met.

[0024] In example two, the first communication device acquires information indicating at least one time point, and sends information indicating the motion trajectory at the at least one time point. In this example, the first communication device can send the motion trajectory periodically or non-periodically.

[0025] For example, the first communication device periodically sends information indicating the motion trajectory of the first communication device in a future time period. The first time period belongs to the future time period. The first information belongs to the information indicating the motion trajectory of the first communication device in the future time period. In this scheme, the first communication device can periodically report the motion trajectory, and multiple signaling can not be sent by the second communication device, so that the signaling overhead of the second communication device can be reduced.

[0026] In another example, the first communication device acquires information indicating at least one time point, and the at least one time point is a time point at which the first communication device sends the motion trajectory. For example, the first communication device sends the first information and the fifth information at two time points in the at least one time point respectively. In this scheme, the first communication device can report the motion trajectory at the time points indicated by the second communication device, and multiple signaling can not be sent by the second communication device, so that the signaling overhead of the second communication device can be reduced. In addition, this manner does not need the first communication device to periodically report the information of the motion trajectory, so that the signaling overhead of the first communication device can be reduced.

[0027] In Example Three, the first communication device determines whether to send the motion trajectory based on a difference between the predicted position of the first communication device and the actual position of the first communication device. For example, the first communication device estimates a first position of the first communication device at a first time based on the motion trajectory, where the first time belongs to the first time period. The first communication device obtains a second position of the first communication device at the first time. When a difference between the second position and the first position is greater than (or not less than) a first threshold, the first communication device sends the fifth information. The first communication device determines whether to send the information of the motion trajectory based on an error between the predicted position of the first communication device and the actual position of the first communication device. In this way, the first communication device can send the information of the motion trajectory when the deviation between the predicted position and the actual position is large, so that the accuracy of tracking the first communication device can be improved, and the amount of sending the motion trajectory can be reduced, thereby reducing resource consumption. In another possible implementation, the first communication device can update the motion trajectory by using the solution provided in Example Three, for example, the first communication device can send the motion trajectory once, and then when the difference between the predicted position of the first communication device and the actual position of the first communication device is greater than (or not less than) the first threshold, the first communication device can send the updated motion trajectory. This solution can improve the accuracy of the solution for tracking the first communication device based on the motion trajectory.

[0028] In the embodiments of this application, after the first communication device stops updating the tracking area and / or the notification area of the first communication device, the first communication device can restart updating the tracking area and / or the notification area. The first communication device can switch between a state of stopping updating the tracking area and / or the notification area and a state of starting updating the tracking area and / or the notification area. For example, the first communication device determines to start updating the tracking area and / or the notification area. The first communication device receives information indicating the tracking area and / or the notification area in which the position of the first communication device is located. The first communication device updates the tracking area and / or the notification area of the first communication device based on the information indicating the tracking area and / or the notification area in which the position of the first communication device is located.

[0029] In the following, several ways in which the first communication device determines to start updating the tracking area and / or the notification area are introduced through several examples.

[0030] In example one, the first communication device determines a manner of initiating the update of the tracking area and / or the notification area based on the signaling. For example, the first communication device receives information from the third communication device indicating that the first communication device updates the tracking area and / or the notification area, and the first communication device determines to initiate the update of the tracking area and / or the notification area based on the information indicating that the first communication device updates the tracking area and / or the notification area. The third communication device can be the same communication device as the second communication device or a different communication device from the second communication device due to the movement of the first communication device. In this embodiment, the third communication device can control whether the first communication device updates the tracking area and / or the notification area through signaling, so as to flexibly adjust the mechanism used by the first communication device, and thus to achieve a better balance between more accurate tracking of the first communication device and saving of signaling overhead.

[0031] In another possible embodiment, the first communication device can send information associated with a difference between the position of the first communication device estimated based on the motion trajectory and the actual position of the first communication device to the third communication device, so that the third communication device more reasonably determines whether to instruct the first communication device to update the tracking area and / or the notification area, and thus to achieve a better balance between more accurate tracking of the first communication device and saving of signaling overhead. For example, the first communication device estimates a first position of the first communication device at a first time according to the motion trajectory, and the first time belongs to a first time period. The first communication device obtains a second position of the first communication device at the first time. The first communication device determines a difference between the second position and the first position. The first communication device sends seventh information indicating the difference and / or a relationship between the difference and a first threshold.

[0032] In another possible embodiment, the first communication device can send the seventh information when the difference is greater than (or not less than) the first threshold. In this embodiment, the first communication device can not send the seventh information when the difference is less than (or not greater than) the first threshold. The first communication device can send or not send the seventh information when the difference is equal to the first threshold. This embodiment can reduce the amount of information sent by the first communication device, and thus reduce the signaling overhead.

[0033] In example two, the first communication device obtains information indicating a second time, and determines to initiate the update of the tracking area and / or the notification area at the second time. The second time is the time at which the update of the tracking area and / or the notification area is initiated. In this embodiment, the first communication device can initiate the update of the tracking area and / or the notification area at the second time according to the obtained second time, and this scheme does not need other communication devices to issue signaling instructing the first communication device to update the tracking area and / or the notification area, and thus can reduce the signaling overhead.

[0034] In example three, the first communication device determines whether to initiate the update of the tracking area and / or the notification area by itself.

[0035] For example, the first communication device determines whether to initiate an update of the tracking area and / or notification area based on the difference between the estimated position of the first communication device based on its motion trajectory and its actual position. For instance, the first communication device estimates a first position of the first communication device at a first moment, which belongs to a first time period, based on its motion trajectory. The first communication device then acquires a second position of the first communication device at that first moment. For instance, if the difference between the second position and the first position is greater than (or not less than) a first threshold, the first communication device determines to initiate an update of the tracking area and / or notification area. This improves the accuracy of tracking the first communication device. Alternatively, if the difference between the second position and the first position is less than (or not greater than) the first threshold, the first communication device determines to continue stopping the update of the tracking area and / or notification area. This reduces signaling overhead. Furthermore, if the difference between the second position and the first position is equal to the first threshold, the first communication device determines to continue stopping or initiating the update of the tracking area and / or notification area. This increases the flexibility of the solution.

[0036] For example, if the accuracy of the first communication device's positioning function is less than (or not greater than) a sixth threshold, the first communication device determines to initiate an update of the tracking area and / or notification area. This can improve the accuracy of tracking the first communication device. Alternatively, if the accuracy of the first communication device's positioning function is greater than (or not less than) the sixth threshold, the first communication device determines to continue stopping updates of the tracking area and / or notification area. This can reduce signaling overhead. Finally, if the accuracy of the first communication device's positioning function is equal to the sixth threshold, the first communication device determines to continue stopping or initiating updates of the tracking area and / or notification area. This can improve the flexibility of the solution.

[0037] In these implementations, no other communication device needs to issue signaling instructions to the first communication device to update the tracking area and / or notification area, thereby reducing signaling overhead.

[0038] In these embodiments, when the first communication device initiates an update of the tracking area and / or notification area, it may also send (e.g., to a third communication device) information instructing the first communication device to update the tracking area and / or notification area. This allows the third communication device to know that the first communication device has begun updating the tracking area and / or notification area, enabling the third communication device to track the first communication device based on the tracking area and / or notification area, thereby improving tracking accuracy.

[0039] In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be performed by a second communication device. The second communication device can be a network device or a chip system inside the network device. The network device can be deployed on the ground or in the air. For example, the network device includes / is at least one of a core network device, an access network device, a relay device, a gateway, a parent node or a host node (e.g., an IAB-donor or an NCR-donor).

[0040] The second communication device receives first information, which is used to indicate a movement trajectory of the first communication device in a future first time period. The second communication device sends second information according to the first information, which is used to indicate that the first communication device stops updating the identity of the area. Since the first communication device stops updating the identity of the area, the scheme can reduce the signaling overhead.

[0041] In a possible implementation, the identity of the area is used to track the first communication device. The first information can also be used to track the first communication device. Based on this, after the first communication device stops updating the identity of the area after receiving the second information, the second communication device can also achieve the purpose of tracking the first communication device according to the first information. It can be seen that the scheme provided by the embodiments of the present application can reduce the signaling overhead while meeting the tracking of the first communication device.

[0042] The content of the identity of the area can be referred to the foregoing description, and some content in the present application is introduced by taking the tracking area and / or the notification area as an example.

[0043] In another possible implementation, the first information is used to track the first communication device. For example, the second communication device or other communication devices can track the first communication device based on the predicted movement trajectory of the first communication device, and then determine one or more access network devices close to the current location of the first communication device based on the movement trajectory of the first communication device, and then make these access network devices page the first communication device, without the need for all base stations in the network (or without the need for all base stations in a TA, or without the need for all base stations in a TAL, or without the need for all base stations in an RNA) to page the first communication device, thereby reducing the number of paging messages and reducing resource overhead.

[0044] In a possible implementation, the second communication device sends information used to indicate a third time point, which is the time point of stopping updating the tracking area and / or the notification area.

[0045] In a possible implementation, the second communication apparatus receives third information, the third information being used to indicate that the first communication apparatus has the capability of obtaining the motion trajectory; or the second communication apparatus receives fourth information, the fourth information being used to indicate that the first communication apparatus does not have the capability of obtaining the motion trajectory.

[0046] In a possible implementation, the second communication apparatus sends information used to indicate the second threshold and / or information used to indicate the third threshold.

[0047] In a possible implementation, the second communication apparatus sends information used to instruct the first communication apparatus to send the motion trajectory.

[0048] In a possible implementation, the second communication apparatus periodically receives information used to indicate the motion trajectory of the first communication apparatus in a future time period, the first time period belonging to the future time period, and the first information belonging to the information used to indicate the motion trajectory of the first communication apparatus in the future time period.

[0049] The beneficial effects of possible implementations of the second aspect and the related content of the first information can be referred to the foregoing description of the first aspect, and will not be described herein again.

[0050] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be performed by a third communication apparatus. Since the first communication apparatus can move, the communication apparatus that communicates with the first communication apparatus can still be the second communication apparatus, or can be another communication apparatus. For the convenience of introduction, the third communication apparatus can communicate with the first communication apparatus is taken as an example for introduction in the present application, and the third communication apparatus and the second communication apparatus can be the same communication apparatus (for example, the third communication apparatus and the second communication apparatus are both core network devices or chips (or chip systems, or circuits) in the core network devices), or can be two different communication apparatuses (for example, two different access network devices). In the case where the third communication apparatus and the second communication apparatus are different communication apparatuses, the third communication apparatus and the second communication apparatus can directly or indirectly communicate, and the third communication apparatus can obtain some information from the second communication apparatus, such as information of the motion trajectory of the first communication apparatus.

[0051] The third communication apparatus can include a network device or a chip system inside the network device. The network device can be deployed on the ground or in the air. For example, the network device includes / at least one of a core network device, an access network device, a relay device, a gateway, a parent node or a host node (for example, the parent node or the host node can include / be an IAB-donor or an NCR-donor).

[0052] In a possible implementation, the third communication apparatus receives fifth information, the fifth information being used to indicate the motion trajectory in a future second time period.

[0053] In a possible implementation, the third communication device sends information indicating that the first communication device sends the motion trajectory.

[0054] In a possible implementation, the third communication device sends information indicating at least one time point, the at least one time point being a time point at which the first communication device sends the motion trajectory, and the fifth information is sent at a time point in the at least one time point.

[0055] In a possible implementation, the third communication device receives information indicating that the first communication device updates the tracking area and / or the notification area.

[0056] In a possible implementation, the third communication device sends information indicating that the first communication device updates the tracking area and / or the notification area.

[0057] In a possible implementation, the third communication device receives seventh information, the seventh information indicating a difference and / or a relationship between the difference and a first threshold, the difference being a difference between a second position and a first position, the first position being a position of the first communication device at a first time point, the first time point belonging to a first time period, and the second position being a position of the first communication device at the first time point estimated according to the motion trajectory.

[0058] In a possible implementation, the third communication device sends information indicating that the first communication device updates the tracking area and / or the notification area, when the difference is greater than (or not less than) the first threshold.

[0059] In a possible implementation, the third communication device sends information indicating a second time point, the second time point being a time point at which the tracking area and / or the notification area is started to be updated.

[0060] The beneficial effects and related contents of possible implementations of the third aspect can be referred to the foregoing related descriptions of the first aspect and the second aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0061] In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided, which can be the first communication device, the second communication device, or the third communication device. The communication device can include a communication unit and a processing unit, to perform any one of the first aspect to the third aspect, or perform any possible implementation of the first aspect to the third aspect. The communication unit is configured to perform functions related to sending and receiving. The communication unit can be referred to as a transceiver unit. Optionally, the communication unit includes a receiving unit and a sending unit. In a design, the communication device is a communication chip, and the processing unit can be one or more processors or processor cores, and the communication unit can be an input / output circuit, an input / output interface, or an antenna port of the communication chip.

[0062] In another design, the communication unit can be a transmitter and a receiver, or the communication unit is a transmitter and a receiver.

[0063] Optionally, the communication apparatus further comprises various modules operable to perform any one of the first aspect to the third aspect, or perform any possible implementation of the first aspect to the third aspect.

[0064] In a fifth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided. The communication apparatus can be the first communication apparatus, the second communication apparatus, or the third communication apparatus. The communication apparatus can comprise a processor. In one possible implementation, the communication apparatus can further comprise a memory. The communication apparatus can perform any one of the first aspect to the third aspect, or perform any possible implementation of the first aspect to the third aspect. Optionally, the communication apparatus can further comprise a transceiver, the memory can be configured to store a computer program or instructions, and the processor can be configured to invoke and execute the computer program or instructions stored in the memory. When the processor executes the computer program or instructions stored in the memory, the communication apparatus can perform any one of the first aspect to the third aspect, or perform any possible implementation of the first aspect to the third aspect.

[0065] Optionally, the processor can be one or more, and the memory can be one or more.

[0066] Optionally, the memory can be integrated with the processor, or the memory can be configured separately from the processor.

[0067] Optionally, the transceiver can comprise a transmitter (transmitter) and a receiver (receiver).

[0068] In a sixth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided. The communication apparatus can be the first communication apparatus, the second communication apparatus, or the third communication apparatus. The communication apparatus can comprise a processor configured to perform any one of the first aspect to the third aspect, or perform any possible implementation of the first aspect to the third aspect. The processor can be coupled to a memory. Optionally, the communication apparatus can further comprise the memory. Optionally, the communication apparatus can further comprise a communication interface, and the processor can be coupled to the communication interface.

[0069] In one implementation, when the communication apparatus is the first communication apparatus, the second communication apparatus, or the third communication apparatus, the communication interface can be a transceiver, or an input / output interface. Optionally, the transceiver can be a transceiver circuit. Optionally, the input / output interface can be an input / output circuit.

[0070] In yet another implementation form, when the communication device is a chip or a chip system, the communication interface can be an input / output interface, an interface circuit, an output circuit, an input circuit, a pin or related circuitry on the chip or chip system, etc. The processor can also be embodied as a processing circuit or a logic circuit.

[0071] In a seventh aspect, a system is provided, the system comprising the first communication device as described above.

[0072] In a possible implementation form, the system can further comprise a second communication device. In yet another possible implementation form, the system can further comprise a third communication device.

[0073] In an eighth aspect, a computer program product is provided, the computer program product comprising: a computer program (which can also be referred to as code or instructions) which, when executed by a computer, causes the computer to execute any one of the first aspect to the third aspect, or to execute any one of the possible implementation forms of the first aspect to the third aspect.

[0074] In a ninth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, the computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program (which can also be referred to as code or instructions) which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to execute any one of the first aspect to the third aspect, or to execute any one of the possible implementation forms of the first aspect to the third aspect.

[0075] In a tenth aspect, a processing device is provided, the processing device comprising: an interface circuit and a processing circuit. The interface circuit can comprise an input circuit and an output circuit. The processing circuit is configured to receive a signal via the input circuit and to transmit a signal via the output circuit, such that any one of the first aspect to the third aspect, or any one of the possible implementation forms of the first aspect to the third aspect is implemented.

[0076] In a specific implementation process, the processing device can be a chip, the input circuit can be an input pin, the output circuit can be an output pin, and the processing circuit can be a transistor, a gate circuit, a flip-flop, various logic circuits, etc. The input signal received by the input circuit can be received and input by, for example but not limited to, a receiver, the output signal output by the output circuit can be output to and transmitted by, for example but not limited to, a transmitter, and the input circuit and the output circuit can be the same circuit which is used as the input circuit and the output circuit at different times, respectively. The specific implementation form of the processor and various circuits is not limited in the present application.

[0077] In an implementation, the communication apparatus is the first communication apparatus, the second communication apparatus or the third communication apparatus. The interface circuit can be a radio frequency processing chip in the first communication apparatus, the second communication apparatus or the third communication apparatus, and the processing circuit can be a baseband processing chip in the first communication apparatus, the second communication apparatus or the third communication apparatus.

[0078] In yet another implementation, the communication apparatus can be a part of a device in the first communication apparatus, the second communication apparatus or the third communication apparatus, such as a system chip or a communication chip. The interface circuit can be an input / output interface, an interface circuit, an output circuit, an input circuit, a pin or related circuit on the chip or the chip system. The processing circuit can be a logic circuit on the chip. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0079] FIG. 1A shows a possible example of a tracking area;

[0080] FIG. 1B shows a possible example of a tracking area list;

[0081] FIG. 1C shows a possible example of a radio access network notification area;

[0082] FIG. 1D shows an example of a scenario of paging a terminal device;

[0083] FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of a communication system to which embodiments of the present application can be applied;

[0084] FIG. 2B is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of another communication system to which embodiments of the present application can be applied;

[0085] FIG. 2C is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of yet another communication system to which embodiments of the present application can be applied;

[0086] FIG. 2D is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of yet another communication system to which embodiments of the present application can be applied;

[0087] FIG. 2E is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of yet another communication system to which embodiments of the present application can be applied;

[0088] FIG. 2F is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of yet another communication system to which embodiments of the present application can be applied;

[0089] FIG. 2G is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of yet another communication system to which embodiments of the present application can be applied;

[0090] FIG. 2H is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of yet another communication system to which embodiments of the present application can be applied;

[0091] FIG. 2I is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of yet another communication system to which embodiments of the present application can be applied;

[0092] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of another communication system to which embodiments of the present application can be applied;

[0093] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a possible procedure of a communication method provided by embodiments of the present application;

[0094] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a transition between an activated state and a deactivated state of a mechanism for stopping updating a tracking area and / or a notification area of a first communication device provided by embodiments of the present application;

[0095] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of an activated state and a deactivated state of a mechanism for stopping updating a tracking area and / or a notification area of a first communication device provided by embodiments of the present application;

[0096] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of an architecture of another communication scenario provided by embodiments of the present application;

[0097] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of an architecture of another communication scenario provided by embodiments of the present application;

[0098] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a communication device provided by embodiments of the present application;

[0099] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of another structure of a communication device provided by embodiments of the present application;

[0100] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of another structure of a communication device provided by embodiments of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0101] The following introduces terms and names related to embodiments of the present application.

[0102] (1) Tracking area update.

[0103] In order to facilitate tracking of the location of a terminal device, the core network introduces the concepts of a tracking area (TA), a tracking area list (TAL), and a RAN-based notification area (RNA). The RAN is an abbreviation of radio access network (RAN). A terminal device can update at least one of these areas during movement, so that the core network can track the terminal device. The following introduces these concepts respectively.

[0104] (1.1) TA.

[0105] In order to facilitate tracking the location of a terminal device, the concept of a tracking area (TA) is introduced in the core network. FIG. 1A shows an example of a possible tracking area. As shown in FIG. 1A, the area range of TA#1, TA#2, TA#3 and TA#4 are shown. As shown in FIG. 1A, one TA contains one or more cells, and one cell belongs to one TA. The core network device allocates a TA to a terminal device when the terminal device accesses the network, and the terminal device registers to the allocated TA. When the core network device needs to page the terminal device, it can initiate paging to the cells under the TA to which the terminal device registers, without paging the terminal device in the whole network. When the terminal device moves to a TA to which it does not register, the terminal device will initiate a TA update to inform the core network device that the location of the terminal device has changed. As can be seen, the introduction of the TA can reduce the location update procedure due to frequent movement of the terminal device between different cells, thereby reducing the signaling overhead.

[0106] A TA can be provided with a tracking area identity (TAI). For example, the TAI can include / be a tracking area code (TAC). For another example, the TAI can include / be a TAC and a public land mobile network (PLMN) identity. The TAC can be broadcast to a UE via a cellAccessRelatedInfo field in a SIB1 message.

[0107] (1.2) TAL.

[0108] Although the introduction of TA can reduce the location update process caused by the frequent movement of terminal devices between different cells. However, the frequent movement of terminal devices between different TAs will also cause frequent location updates. Based on this, the concept of TAL is introduced. FIG. IB exemplarily shows a possible example of a tracking area list. FIG. IB exemplarily shows possible examples of TAL#1, TAL#2 and TAL#3. In FIG. IB, TAL#1 includes TA#1, TA#2, TA#3, TA#4, TA#5 and TA#6. TAL#2 includes TA#4, TA#5, TA#6, TA#7 and TA#8. TAL#3 includes TA#9, TA#10, TA#11 and TA#12. As shown in FIG. IB, a TAL can include one or more TAs, and a TAL can be composed of one or more TAIs and / or TACs corresponding to the TA. In the case that a terminal device is in a radio resource control (RRC) idle state, since the accurate location of the terminal device cannot be known, when the core network device needs to page the terminal device, the core network device sends a paging message to the terminal device through all base stations in the TAL, so as to page the terminal device (this scheme can also be referred to as core network level terminal tracking). When the terminal device moves to a cell outside the cell included in the TAL to which the terminal device currently belongs, i.e., the terminal device moves to a cell that does not belong to the TAL, the terminal device needs to actively access the network, for example, the terminal device performs non-access stratum (NAS) registration update (the protocol layer above the RRC layer is referred to as the NAS layer), and the core network device can register the location of the terminal device and update the registration area of the terminal device, i.e., the core network device can indicate a new TAL for the terminal device, and the TA to which the cell where the terminal device currently locates belongs to the TAL. If the terminal device does not actively access the network when moving out of the cell outside the currently configured TAL, the core network device cannot page the terminal device. The introduction of TAL can reduce the location update process caused by the frequent movement of terminal devices between different TAs, thereby reducing signaling overhead.

[0109] (1.3) RNA.

[0110] In the scheme provided in FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B, the terminal device is in the RRC idle state, and the core network device needs all base stations in the TAL or TA range to page the terminal device, which will cause a high paging message transmission overhead. In order to save the transmission overhead of the paging message, for the terminal device in the RRC inactive state, the concept of "RNA" smaller than the TA range is introduced. FIG. 1C exemplarily shows a possible example of a radio access network notification area. As shown in FIG. 1C, one TA can include multiple RNAs, and one RNA can belong to one TA. One RNA can include one or more cells, and one cell can belong to one RNA. The base station can page the terminal device based on the RNA, for example, the terminal device can be paged by all base stations in one RNA (this scheme can be referred to as terminal tracking at the radio access network level). The terminal device can update the RNA. For example, the terminal device can periodically send an RNA update message to the base station to determine whether the terminal device is off the network; or the terminal device can update the RNA when the RNA needs to be updated after cell reselection; or the terminal device performs NAS registration update and updates the RNA. This scheme can track the terminal device at a smaller granularity, thereby reducing the transmission overhead of the paging message. The RNA can set the RNA ID. For example, the identification of the RNA is composed of the TAC and the RAN area code.

[0111] FIG. 1D exemplarily shows a scenario example of paging a terminal device. As shown in FIG. 1D, the scenario exemplarily shows the area corresponding to RNA1 and the area corresponding to RNA2. The last serving base station of the UE is located in RNA1. The Xn interface is deployed between each base station in RNA1 and the serving base station of the UE. The base stations outside RNA1 can have or can not have the Xn interface with the last serving base station of the UE. If the network side needs to page the UE, all base stations in RNA1 need to send a paging message, and the base stations in FIG. 1D other than RNA1 do not need to send a paging message. If the UE moves out of the area range of RNA1, the UE needs to update the identification of the RNA.

[0112] The network device can broadcast at least one of the TAC, TAI or RNA ID corresponding to the cell in a broadcast message (e.g. SIB1). As carried in the public land mobile network (PLMN) identity information (PLMN-IdentityInfo) information element in the cell access related information (CellAccessRelatedInfo) information element of SIB1, the tracking area code (trackingAreaCode) parameter (e.g. TAC) and the RAN area code (RAN-AreaCode) parameter (e.g. RNA ID can be composed of TAC and RAN area code).

[0113] FIG. 2A shows an exemplary architecture of a communication system 1000 to which embodiments of the present application can be applied. As shown in FIG. 2A, the communication system includes a wireless access network 100 and a core network 200. Optionally, the communication system 1000 can further include an Internet 300. The wireless access network 100 can include at least one wireless access network device (e.g. 110a and 110b in FIG. 2A) and at least one terminal device (e.g. 120a-120j in FIG. 2A). The terminal devices are connected to the wireless access network devices by wireless means, and the wireless access network devices are connected to the core network by wireless or wired means. The core network device and the wireless access network device can be independent and different physical devices, or can be integrated into the same physical device with the functions of the core network device and the logical functions of the wireless access network device, or can be a physical device integrated with part of the functions of the core network device and part of the functions of the wireless access network device. The terminal devices and the terminal devices, and the wireless access network devices and the wireless access network devices can be connected to each other by wired or wireless means. FIG. 2A is only a schematic diagram, and the communication system can further include other network devices, such as wireless relay devices and wireless backhaul devices, which are not shown in FIG. 2A.

[0114] The network device involved in the embodiments of the present application, for example, includes a radio access network (RAN) device. The radio access network device can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB for short), a transmission reception point (TRP), a transmission point (TP), a base station in a 5th generation (5G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, an access node in a WiFi system, and the like; or can be a module or unit that completes part of the functions of a base station, for example, can be a central unit (CU), can also be a distributed unit (DU), and can also be a radio unit (RU). The CU here completes the functions of the radio resource control protocol and the packet data convergence layer protocol (PDCP) of the base station, and can also complete the function of the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP); the DU completes the functions of the radio link control layer and the medium access control (MAC) layer of the base station, and can also complete part of the physical layer or the entire physical layer; the specific description of the above-mentioned protocol layers can refer to the relevant technical specifications of the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP). The CU and the DU can be separately arranged, or can also be included in the same network element, for example, in a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or a radio frequency unit, for example, included in a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna processing unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH). In different systems, the CU, the DU, or the RU can also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in an open radio access network (ORAN) system, the CU can also be referred to as an open-CU (O-CU), the DU can also be referred to as an open-DU (O-DU), and the RU can also be referred to as an open-RU (O-RU).Any of the CUs (or CU control plane (CU-CP), CU user plane (CU-UP), DUs and RUs in this application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module. The CU-CP can also be referred to as an open-CU-CP (O-CU-CP), and the CU-UP can also be referred to as an open-CU-UP (O-CU-UP).

[0115] FIG. 2B shows an O-RAN system architecture provided by an embodiment of the present application. The O-RAN system in the embodiment provided by the present application can include other components in addition to the components shown in FIG. 2B. As shown in FIG. 2B, an access network device (RAN, which can be an eNB or a next generation NodeB (gNB) or an access network device in a future mobile communication system) communicates with a core network (CN) through a backhaul link and communicates with a user equipment (UE) through an air interface. For example, a baseband unit (BBU) in the access network device communicates with the core network through the backhaul link, and a radio unit (RU) in the access network device communicates with at least one UE through the air interface. The BBU communicates with at least one RU through a front-haul link, and the BBU and the RU can be co-located or not co-located. The BBU includes at least one control unit (CU) and at least one distributed unit (DU), which can communicate through at least one mid-haul link. In the embodiment of the present application, the second communication device (or other communication device) can send signaling to the first communication device, and the sending of the signaling can be performed by the CU and / or the DU in the second communication device (or other communication device) to the first communication device.

[0116] FIG. 2C illustrates an O-RAN system architecture provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 2C, the O-RAN can include an O-CU-CP, an O-CU-UP, an O-DU, and an O-RU. The system architecture can also include an open cloud (O-cloud), a service management and orchestration framework, an open eNB (O-eNB), and near (near)-real time (RT) RIC and non-real time (RT) RIC. The non-RT RIC can implement monitoring, configuration, management, and control of radio resources of at least one of the O-CU-CP, the O-CU-UP, the DU, or the O-eNB. As shown in FIG. 2C, interfaces defined by 3GPP include, for example, El, Fl (e.g., Fl-c, Fl-u), NG (e.g., NG-c, NG-u), Xn (e.g., Xn-c, Xn-u), and X2 (e.g., X2-c, X2-u). For example, the O-RAN communication system also includes some interfaces, such as Ol, O2, E2, Al, Open-front hual (FH) (e.g., Open-FH control (M)-plane, and Open-FH control, user, and synchronization (CUS)-plane). The names of the interfaces and the connection modes of the units shown in FIG. 2C are examples, and in actual applications, the O-RAN system can include more or fewer interfaces, or more or fewer units.

[0117] The radio access network device can be a macro base station (e.g., 110a in FIG. 2A), a micro base station or an indoor station (e.g., 110b in FIG. 2A), a relay device, a relay node, a donor node, or the like. Embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form of the radio access network device. For ease of description, a base station is described as an example of the radio access network device in the following.

[0118] The terminal device can also be referred to as a terminal, a user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a mobile terminal device, etc. The terminal device can be widely applied to various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle to everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), internet of things (IOT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, automatic driving, remote medical treatment, smart power grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wear, smart transportation, smart city, etc. The terminal device can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a wearable device, a vehicle, a drone, a helicopter, an airplane, a ship, a robot, a mechanical arm, a smart home device, a sensor, etc. Embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form of the terminal device.

[0119] The terminal device can establish a connection with the operator network through an interface (such as N1, etc.) provided by the operator network, and use data and / or voice services provided by the operator network. The terminal device can also access the domain name system (DNS) through the operator network, use operator services deployed on the DNS, and / or services provided by a third party. The third party can be a service provider other than the operator network and the terminal device, and can provide the terminal device with data and / or voice services. The specific form of the third party can be determined according to the actual application scenario, which is not limited here.

[0120] The base station and the terminal device can be fixed in position or mobile. The base station and the terminal device can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; can also be deployed on the water surface; can also be deployed on aircraft, balloons and artificial satellites in the air. Embodiments of the present application do not limit the application scenarios of the base station and the terminal device.

[0121] The roles of the base station and the terminal device can be relative. For example, the helicopter or the drone 120i in FIG. 2A can be configured as a mobile base station, and for the terminal device 120j that accesses the wireless access network 100 through the 120i, the terminal device 120i is a base station; but for the base station 110a, the 120i is a terminal device, that is, the 110a and the 120i communicate through a wireless air interface protocol. Of course, the 110a and the 120i can also communicate through a base station-to-base station interface protocol, and in this case, the 120i is also a base station relative to the 110a. Therefore, the base station and the terminal device can be collectively referred to as a communication device, and the 110a and the 110b in FIG. 2A can be referred to as a communication device with a base station function, and the 120a-120j in FIG. 2A can be referred to as a communication device with a terminal device function.

[0122] The base station and the terminal device, the base station and the base station, and the terminal device and the terminal device can communicate through a licensed frequency spectrum, an unlicensed frequency spectrum, or both. They can communicate through a frequency spectrum below 6 gigahertz (GHz), a frequency spectrum above 6 GHz, or both. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the frequency spectrum resources used for wireless communication.

[0123] In the embodiments of the present application, the functions of the base station can also be performed by a module (such as a chip) in the base station or a control subsystem containing base station functions. The control subsystem containing base station functions herein can be a control center in the above-mentioned application scenarios such as smart grids, industrial control, intelligent transportation, and smart cities. The functions of the terminal device can also be performed by a module (such as a chip or a modem) in the terminal device or a device containing terminal device functions.

[0124] In the present application, the base station sends a downlink signal or downlink information to the terminal device, and the downlink information is carried on a downlink channel; the terminal device sends an uplink signal or uplink information to the base station, and the uplink information is carried on an uplink channel. The terminal device needs to establish a wireless connection with a cell controlled by the base station in order to communicate with the base station. The cell that establishes a wireless connection with the terminal device is called a service cell of the terminal device. When the terminal device communicates with the service cell, it will also be interfered by signals from neighboring cells.

[0125] The core network involved in the embodiments of the present application can include network devices for processing and forwarding signaling and data of a user. For example, it can include core network devices such as an access and mobility management function (AMF), a session management function (SMF), a user plane gateway, a positioning management device, and the like. The user plane gateway can be a server having functions of mobility management, routing, forwarding, and the like for user plane data, and is generally located at the network side, such as a serving gateway (SGW), a packet data network gateway (PGW), a user plane function (UPF), or the like. The AMF and the SMF are equivalent to a mobility management entity (MME) in a long term evolution (LTE) system. The AMF is mainly responsible for admission, and the SMF is mainly responsible for session management. Of course, other network elements can also be included in the core network, which are not listed here.

[0126] Based on the content shown in FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C, FIG. 2D also exemplarily shows another system architecture diagram to which the embodiments of the present application are applicable. As shown in FIG. 2D, the communication system includes a terminal device (for example, a UE), a network device (for example, a base station), and a relay device. The UE shown in FIG. 2D can be replaced by any terminal device shown in FIGS. 2A, 2B, or 2C. The base station shown in FIG. 2D can be replaced by the network device (for example, an access network device) shown in FIGS. 2A, 2B, or 2C. The relay device shown in FIG. 2D can be the network device shown in FIGS. 2A, 2B, or 2C, and the relay device has the capability of forwarding data. Data can be transmitted and received in the form of a signal, so the signal in the embodiments of the present application can be replaced by data, and the data can be replaced by a signal.

[0127] In FIG. 2D, the relay device is taken as an example of a network-controlled repeater (NCR). The NCR transparent device can access a base station (parent node) as a UE to receive control signaling from the base station. The NCR can also amplify and forward signals between the UE and the base station.

[0128] Based on the content shown in FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B, FIG. 2C and FIG. 2D, FIG. 2E further exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of a system architecture to which embodiments of the present application are applicable. As shown in FIG. 2E, the communication system includes terminal devices (e.g., UEs), network devices (e.g., base stations), and relay devices. The UE shown in FIG. 2E can be replaced by any terminal device shown in FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B, FIG. 2C or FIG. 2D. The base station shown in FIG. 2D can be replaced by the network device (e.g., access network device) shown in FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B, FIG. 2C or FIG. 2D. The relay device shown in FIG. 2E can be the network device shown in FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B, FIG. 2C or FIG. 2D, and the relay device has the capability of forwarding data.

[0129] As shown in FIG. 2E, the relay device (e.g., NCR, satellite or other relay device) includes two functional entities, a mobile termination (MT) entity (the relay device is NCR, and the MT entity can also be referred to as an NCR MT (also denoted as NCR-MT) entity) and a forwarding (Fwd) entity (the relay device is NCR, and the Fwd entity can also be referred to as an NCR Fwd (also denoted as NCR-Fwd) entity).

[0130] The MT entity can be defined as a functional entity that communicates with the base station through a control link (C-link) to exchange control information. The C-link can be based on the NR Uu interface, i.e., the NCR-MT entity is connected to the gNB through the Uu interface, and the base station uses the C-link to control the relay device. For example, the relay device can receive control information (e.g., side information for controlling the Fwd entity), beam control information (e.g., beam control information for the control link, backhaul link or access link), switching of the relay device (i.e., the on and off state of the NCR), or NCR signal transmission power control, etc. from the base station through the C-link. The relay device amplifies and forwards the data between the base station and the UE without decoding the data, etc.

[0131] The Fwd entity is defined as a functional entity that performs amplification and forwarding of uplink (UL) / downlink (DL) radio frequency (RF) signals between the base station and the UE through the backhaul link and the access link. The behavior of the Fwd entity can be controlled according to the control information received from the base station.

[0132] FIG. 2F and FIG. 2G exemplarily show network architecture diagrams of several communication systems to which embodiments of the present application are applicable. The communication system can include satellites, network devices, terminal devices, and the like. The communication system can also include gateways and core network devices. FIG. 2F and FIG. 2G exemplarily show a converged network architecture of an NTN and a terrestrial network. The following is described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0133] The satellite can be a highly elliptical orbiting (HEO) satellite, a geosynchronous orbit (GSO) satellite, a geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite, a medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite, and a low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite. Embodiments of the present application do not limit the working mode of the satellite, for example, the working mode of the satellite can be a transparent mode or a regenerative mode. FIG. 2F is a schematic diagram taking the working mode of the satellite as the transparent mode, and FIG. 2G is a schematic diagram taking the working mode of the satellite as the regenerative mode.

[0134] When the satellite works in the transparent mode, the satellite has the function of transparent forwarding of relaying. The gateway has the function of a network device (such as a base station) or part of the function of a network device (such as a base station), at this time, the gateway can be regarded as a network device (such as a base station). Alternatively, the network device (such as a base station) can be deployed separately from the gateway, and then the delay of the feeder link includes the delay of the satellite to the gateway and the delay of the gateway to the gNB. The transparent mode discussed later is an example taking the case that the gateway and the gNB are together or close to each other, and for the case that the gateway is far away from the gNB, the delay of the feeder link is the sum of the delay of the satellite to the gateway and the delay of the gateway to the gNB.

[0135] When the satellite works in the regenerative mode, the satellite has data processing capability, has the function of a network device (such as a base station) or part of the function of a network device (such as a base station), at this time, the satellite can be regarded as a network device (such as a base station).

[0136] The satellite can perform wireless communication with the terminal device through broadcast communication signals and navigation signals, and the like. Optionally, each satellite can provide communication services, navigation services, positioning services, and the like for terminal devices through multiple beams. For example, each satellite uses multiple beams to cover a service area, and the relationship between different beams can be one or more of time division, frequency division, and space division.

[0137] A gateway (or ground station, earth station, interface station, interface station) can be used to connect a satellite and a ground network device (such as a ground base station). One or more satellites can be connected to one or more ground network devices (such as a ground base station) through one or more gateways, which is not limited herein. The link between a satellite and a terminal device is referred to as a service link, and the link between a satellite and a gateway is referred to as a feeder link. The network device can be deployed separately from the gateway, and the delay of the feeder link can include the delay of the satellite to the gateway and the delay of the gateway to the network device.

[0138] The network device in the embodiments of the present application can include a network device deployed on a satellite (such as a satellite base station), can include a network device deployed on a gateway, and can include a network device deployed on the ground (such as a ground base station). For example, the network device can be a radio access network (RAN) node shown in FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B and FIG. 2C, a RAN node in an O-RAN system, and the like. For related content, refer to the foregoing description, which will not be repeated here.

[0139] The core network device (CN) is a device deployed on the ground and capable of communicating with the NTN device in the NTN system. For example, the CN can be the CN involved in FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B and FIG. 2C. For related content, refer to the foregoing description, which will not be repeated here.

[0140] The terminal device can be the terminal device involved in FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B and FIG. 2C. The terminal device in the embodiments of the present application can be a terminal device or a chip or chip system (or circuit) inside the terminal device. For related content, refer to the foregoing description, which will not be repeated here.

[0141] The embodiments of the present application can also be applicable to other communication system architectures, such as an air to ground (ATG) communication system, which includes at least one network device and at least one high-altitude terminal device. The high-altitude terminal device includes, for example, a high-altitude aircraft and an on-board terminal device. The satellite in FIG. 2F and FIG. 2G above can be replaced by other relay devices, such as a high altitude platform station (HAPS) or other NTN device. The communication system shown in FIG. 2F or FIG. 2G is an example and does not limit the communication system to which the method provided by the embodiments of the present application is applicable.

[0142] It can be understood that the embodiments of the present application can also be applicable to an air to ground (ATG) communication system. As an example, referring to FIG. 2H, a schematic diagram of a network architecture of another communication system to which the embodiments of the present application are applicable is shown. The communication system includes at least one network device and at least one high-altitude terminal device. Data forwarding can also be performed between the network device and the high-altitude terminal device through a relay device. The high-altitude terminal device includes, for example, a high-altitude aircraft and an on-board terminal device.

[0143] FIG. 2I exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of another communication system architecture to which the embodiments of the present application are applicable. As shown in FIG. 2I, the communication system includes a gateway, a satellite, a relay device deployed on the ground, a UE located on the ground, a UE located in the high altitude (for example, a high-altitude aircraft or an on-board terminal device, etc.), and a relay device located in the high altitude (for example, the satellite shown in FIG. 2I can be an NCR-MT / IAB-MT entity).

[0144] As shown in FIG. 2I, the gateway can transmit a base station signal to the relay device deployed on the ground through the satellite, and the relay device deployed on the ground can forward the base station signal to the UE on the ground, the UE in the sky / space (for example, an aircraft, a satellite device (for example, a satellite including an IAB-MT entity), etc.). The relay device deployed on the ground can also forward the base station signal to the next relay device, which can be deployed on the ground or in the air. In FIG. 2I, the next relay device is exemplarily shown as a satellite in the air, which can act as an NCR to forward the received data (which can also be forwarded to other UEs or other relay devices). The base station signal can come from a ground base station or a satellite base station, etc.

[0145] In another example, the gateway can transmit a base station signal to the relay device deployed on the ground through the satellite, and the relay device deployed on the ground can forward a signal from a UE (for example, a UE deployed on the ground, an aircraft in the air, or a satellite configured to include an IAB-MT entity) or another relay device (for example, the satellite configured as an NCR in the figure) to the gateway (for example, through the satellite to the gateway, or directly to the gateway), and the gateway sends the received UE signal to the base station. The UE signal can come from a ground UE or a high-altitude UE.

[0146] FIG. 3 illustrates another example of a communication scenario to which embodiments of the present application can be applied. The scenario shown in FIG. 3 includes terminal devices and network devices. In FIG. 3, the network devices include network device #1, network device #2, network device #3, and network device #4 are taken as an example for illustration. Any of the network devices in FIG. 3 can be a network equipment, a chip (or chip system, or circuit) inside the network equipment, a relay device, or a chip (or chip system, or circuit) inside the relay device in FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B, FIG. 2C, FIG. 2D, FIG. 2E, FIG. 2F, FIG. 2G, FIG. 2H, and FIG. 2I. For example, the network equipment includes / is at least one of a core network equipment, an access network equipment, a relay device, a gateway, a parent node, or a host node (e.g., an IAB-donor or an NCR-donor). The network equipment can be deployed on the ground or in the air (e.g., a satellite). In the scenario shown in FIG. 3, each network device can correspond to a TAL. For example, the signal coverage area of the network device #1 can include TAL #1, the signal coverage area of the network device #2 can include TAL #2, the signal coverage area of the network device #3 can include TAL #3, and the signal coverage area of the network device #4 can include TAL #4.

[0147] In FIG. 3, the terminal devices include an airplane and a satellite are taken as an example. The satellite in FIG. 3 can also be a satellite IAB-MT / NCR-MT. The terminal devices in FIG. 3 can also be the terminal equipment or a chip system inside the terminal equipment in FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B, FIG. 2C, FIG. 2D, FIG. 2E, FIG. 2F, FIG. 2G, FIG. 2H, and FIG. 2I. For example, the terminal equipment includes / is at least one of a terminal device, a relay device, a satellite, an airplane, a terminal on an airplane, a drone, an IAB-MT, or an NCR-MT. For example, the satellite accesses a parent node or a host node as an MT (e.g., an IAB-MT or an NCR-MT).

[0148] In the NTN satellite-to-ground communication scenario shown in FIG. 3, the terminal device (e.g., an airplane and a satellite) will pass through different areas during movement, and at least one of the area identity update, such as TA update, TAL update, or RNA update, will be initiated during movement. The terminal device updates the TA, which can update the TAI and / or TAC of the TA. The terminal device updates the TAL, which can update the TAI and / or TAC of the TA included in the TAL. The terminal device updates the RNA, which can update the identity of the RNA. The possible motion trajectories of the airplane and the satellite are exemplarily shown in FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 3, the motion trajectory of the terminal device (e.g., the airplane and the satellite) can pass through multiple TALs (e.g., pass through multiple TAL#1, TAL#2, TAL#3, and TAL#4). In order to maintain the positioning tracking of the network device, the terminal device needs to frequently update the tracking area (e.g., at least one of the terminal device updates the TA, the TAL, or the RNA), for example, the terminal device needs to update the tracking area to TAL#1, TAL#2, TAL#3, and TAL#4 in sequence during movement. This can cause a large signaling overhead.

[0149] Based on the above problems, the embodiments of the present application provide a scheme in which the terminal device can stop updating the tracking area and / or the notification area (e.g., stop updating at least one of the TA / TAL / RNA ID), and the network device can track the terminal device based on the predicted motion trajectory of the terminal device. Since the terminal device stops updating the tracking area, the scheme can reduce the signaling overhead caused by the location tracking of the terminal device. The network device in the embodiments of the present application can be a network device or a chip or chip system (or circuit) inside the network device.

[0150] In another aspect, for the scenario in which the terminal device has a normal motion, the scheme provided by the embodiments of the present application is more helpful to reduce the signaling overhead. For example, in the scenario in which the satellite moves according to a predetermined trajectory, and for example, in the scenario in which the airplane flies according to a set route, in these scenarios, the terminal device such as the airplane and the satellite moves at a high speed, which causes the tracking area to change frequently, and in turn causes a large signaling overhead. In another aspect, in these scenarios, the terminal device can move according to a predetermined trajectory, and therefore the network side can predict the position of the terminal device. In combination with these analyses, the application of the scheme provided by the present application in these scenarios can reduce the signaling overhead and also meet the tracking demand of the terminal device.

[0151] In yet another aspect, the network device can track the terminal device based on the predicted motion trajectory of the terminal device, and then determine one or more access network devices that are close to the current location of the terminal device based on the motion trajectory of the terminal device, and then cause the one or more access network devices to page the terminal device, without causing all base stations in the network (or without causing all base stations in a TA, or without causing all base stations in a TAL, or without causing all base stations in an RNA) to page the terminal device, thereby reducing the number of paging messages and reducing resource overhead.

[0152] Based on at least one of the contents shown in FIGs. 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 2E, 2F, 2G, 2H, 2I, and 3 and the other contents described above, FIG. 4 exemplarily shows a possible flow diagram of a communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application. For ease of understanding, FIG. 4 takes the interaction of a first communication device, a second communication device, and a third communication device as an example for introduction.

[0153] The first communication device in FIG. 4 may, for example, be a communication device (e.g., a terminal device) or a chip system inside the communication device (e.g., a terminal device) involved in FIGs. 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 2E, 2F, 2G, 2H, 2I, or 3. For example, the communication device (e.g., a terminal device) is a non-ground communication device (e.g., a communication device located in the air) or a ground communication device. For example, the communication device (e.g., a terminal device) may, for example, include / be at least one of a satellite, an airplane, a terminal on an airplane, a drone, an IAB-MT, or an NCR-MT. The IAB-MT or the NCR-MT may, for example, be deployed in a ground device or a device in the air (e.g., a satellite).

[0154] The second communication device in FIG. 4 may, for example, be a network device or a chip system inside the network device in FIGs. 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 2E, 2F, 2G, 2H, and 2I. For example, the network device may, for example, include / be at least one of a core network device, an access network device, a relay device, a gateway, a parent node, or a host node (the parent node or the host node may, for example, include / be an IAB-donor or an NCR-donor). The network device may, for example, be deployed on the ground or in the air (e.g., the network device is a satellite configured as an IAB-donor or an NCR-donor).

[0155] Since the first communication apparatus can move, the communication apparatuses that communicate with the first communication apparatus in the scheme provided in FIG. 4 can always be the second communication apparatus, or can be multiple communication apparatuses. For ease of introduction, the second communication apparatus and the third communication apparatus can both communicate with the first communication apparatus in this application, the first communication apparatus first communicates with the second communication apparatus, and subsequently communicates with the third communication apparatus due to the movement of the first communication apparatus. The third communication apparatus and the second communication apparatus can be the same communication apparatus (for example, the third communication apparatus and the second communication apparatus are both core network devices or chips (or chip systems, or circuits) in the core network devices), or can be two different communication apparatuses (for example, two different access network devices). In the case where the third communication apparatus and the second communication apparatus are different communication apparatuses, the third communication apparatus and the second communication apparatus can directly or indirectly communicate, and the third communication apparatus can obtain some information from the second communication apparatus, such as information of the movement trajectory of the first communication apparatus.

[0156] The third communication apparatus can include a network device or a chip system inside the network device. The network device can be deployed on the ground or in the air. For example, the network device includes / at least one of a core network device, an access network device, a relay device, a gateway, a parent node, or a host node (the parent node or the host node can include / for example, an IAB-donor or an NCR-donor).

[0157] As shown in FIG. 4, the scheme includes the following steps 404 and 405. In one possible implementation, the scheme can further include at least one of steps 401, 402, 403, and 406.

[0158] In step 401, the first communication apparatus sends capability indication information.

[0159] Correspondingly, for example, the second communication apparatus receives the capability indication information.

[0160] The capability indication information is used to indicate the capability possessed by the first communication apparatus. For example, the capability indication information can be used to indicate whether the first communication apparatus possesses the capability of obtaining the movement trajectory. Whether the first communication apparatus possesses the capability of obtaining the movement trajectory can also be replaced by other description methods, for example, it can be replaced by: whether the first communication apparatus knows its future movement trajectory, or whether the first communication apparatus can predict its future movement trajectory, or whether the first communication apparatus will move according to a predetermined trajectory, etc.

[0161] For example, the capability indication information comprises / is the third information, and the third information comprises / is information indicating that the first communication device has the capability of obtaining the motion trajectory. The second communication device can determine that the first communication device has the capability of obtaining the motion trajectory upon receiving the third information. For another example, the capability indication information comprises / is the fourth information, and the fourth information comprises / is information indicating that the first communication device does not have the capability of obtaining the motion trajectory. The second communication device can determine that the first communication device does not have the capability of obtaining the motion trajectory upon receiving the fourth information.

[0162] In a possible example, the capability indication information can be carried in one bit of a designated field, and a bit value of 1 carried in the bit indicates that the first communication device has the capability of obtaining the motion trajectory. For another example, a bit value of 0 carried in the bit indicates that the first communication device does not have the capability of obtaining the motion trajectory.

[0163] The first communication device can determine whether it has the capability of obtaining the motion trajectory. For example, the first communication device can determine whether it has the capability of obtaining the motion trajectory based on preconfigured information (for example, the first communication device is preconfigured with the capability of obtaining the motion trajectory when it is manufactured). For another example, the first communication device determines that it has the capability of obtaining the motion trajectory when it can obtain the information of the motion trajectory. For another example, the first communication device determines that it has the capability of obtaining the motion trajectory when it stores the information of the motion trajectory. For another example, the first communication device determines that it has the capability of obtaining the motion trajectory when it determines that it needs to move according to the motion trajectory.

[0164] For example, the first communication device determines that it has the capability of obtaining the motion trajectory when at least one of the following conditions is met (the first communication device can send the third information when at least one of the following conditions is met): the error corresponding to the motion trajectory predicted by the first communication device is less than a second threshold; the error corresponding to the motion trajectory predicted by the first communication device is equal to the second threshold; the length of the motion trajectory predicted by the first communication device (or the length of the motion trajectory that the first communication device can predict, for example, 1 minute) is greater than a third threshold, or the length of the motion trajectory predicted by the first communication device is equal to the third threshold. In this example, the first communication device can send the third information when the error corresponding to the motion trajectory predicted by the first communication device is equal to the second threshold and / or the length of the motion trajectory predicted by the first communication device is equal to the third threshold. In another possible implementation, the first communication device can send the fourth information when the error corresponding to the motion trajectory predicted by the first communication device is equal to the second threshold. In another possible implementation, the first communication device can send the fourth information when the length of the motion trajectory predicted by the first communication device is equal to the third threshold. In this implementation, the first communication device can report its capability based on the error of the predicted motion trajectory and / or the length of the motion trajectory, so that the capability reported by the first communication device matches the capability requirement of the second communication device.

[0165] The second threshold belongs to an error threshold, and the third threshold belongs to a length threshold. There are various ways for the first communication device to obtain the second threshold and the third threshold: for example, the second threshold and / or the third threshold can be defined by a protocol; for another example, the second threshold and / or the third threshold are pre-configured on the first communication device side; for another example, the second threshold and / or the third threshold are received by the first communication device side from other devices (for example, the second communication device or other communication devices). For example, the second communication device sends information for indicating the second threshold and / or information for indicating the third threshold. The second communication device can send the information for indicating the second threshold and / or the information for indicating the third threshold through a broadcast message (for example, an RRC message, for another example, a medium access control control element (MAC CE) message). The information for indicating the second threshold and the information for indicating the third threshold can be carried in the same message or can not be carried in the same message.

[0166] Through execution of step 401, the second communication device can know the capability of the first communication device, and then can determine the subsequent strategy according to whether the first communication device has the capability of acquiring the motion trajectory. For example, the second communication device can instruct the first communication device to report the motion trajectory in the case of knowing that the first communication device has the capability of acquiring the motion trajectory. For another example, the second communication device can not instruct the first communication device to report the motion trajectory in the case of knowing that the first communication device does not have the capability of acquiring the motion trajectory. This scheme can enable the second communication device to determine the subsequent strategy according to the actual capability of the first communication device, thereby providing a more flexible management scheme for the first communication device, so that the overall communication performance can be improved. In another possible implementation, in this scheme, the second communication device can instruct the first communication device to report the motion trajectory only when it is determined that the first communication device has the capability of reporting the motion trajectory, thereby avoiding the second communication device from instructing the communication device without the capability of reporting the motion trajectory to report the motion trajectory.

[0167] Step 401 can be executed or not executed. In FIG. 4, step 401 is taken as an example for illustration. When step 401 is not executed, step 401 can not be included in FIG. 4, and the second communication device can determine whether the first communication device has the capability of acquiring the motion trajectory through other manners. For example, the second communication device can determine that the first communication device has the capability of acquiring the motion trajectory when it subsequently receives the information for indicating the motion trajectory from the first communication device. For another example, the second communication device can determine that the first communication device does not have the capability of acquiring the motion trajectory when it does not receive the information for indicating the motion trajectory from the first communication device within a specified time length. Alternatively, the second communication device can not identify whether the first communication device has the capability of acquiring the motion trajectory.

[0168] Step 402: The second communication device sends information for instructing the first communication device to send the motion trajectory.

[0169] Correspondingly, the first communication device receives the information for instructing the first communication device to send the motion trajectory.

[0170] Step 403: The first communication device sends first information.

[0171] Correspondingly, the second communication device receives the first information. The first information is used for indicating the motion trajectory of the first communication device in a future first time period.

[0172] In a possible implementation, the first information comprises at least one of the following information B1 (information used to indicate the ephemeris corresponding to the first communication apparatus), information B2 (information used to indicate the position of the first communication apparatus at one or more time instants in the first time period), information B3 (information used to indicate the motion trajectory corresponding to the first communication apparatus), and information B4 (information used to indicate the first time period).

[0173] Information B1, information used to indicate the ephemeris corresponding to the first communication apparatus.

[0174] Ephemeris can be a table or other method that gives the calculated positions of certain celestial bodies (for example, artificial satellites) within a specified time period.

[0175] In the case where the first information comprises information used to indicate the ephemeris corresponding to the first communication apparatus, the first communication apparatus can move based on the ephemeris, and thus the second communication apparatus can achieve tracking of the first communication apparatus based on the ephemeris. Since the ephemeris is easy to obtain, this implementation can reduce the complexity of the scheme.

[0176] Information B2, information used to indicate the position of the first communication apparatus at one or more time instants in the first time period.

[0177] For example, the first information comprises information used to indicate the position of the first communication apparatus at multiple time instants in the first time period. The time length between two pairs of adjacent time instants in the multiple time instants can be equal or unequal. The distance between the positions corresponding to two pairs of adjacent time instants in the multiple time instants can be equal or unequal. For example, the first information comprises information of position #1 at time instant #1, information of position #2 at time instant #2, and information of position #3 at time instant #3. Time instant #1, time instant #2, and time instant #3 are three adjacent time instants in the first information, and the time length between time instant #1 and time instant #2 can be equal to or unequal to the time length between time instant #2 and time instant #3, and the distance between position #1 and position #2 can be equal to or unequal to the distance between position #2 and position #3. In the case where the first information comprises information used to indicate the ephemeris corresponding to the first communication apparatus, the data amount of the first information can be small, and thus the resource consumption can be reduced.

[0178] In a possible implementation, the distance between the positions of the first communication apparatus corresponding to two adjacent time instants in the multiple time instants is less than a fourth threshold, and / or the distance between the positions of the first communication apparatus corresponding to two adjacent time instants in the multiple time instants is less than a fifth threshold. These implementations can make the time instants corresponding to the multiple positions reported by the first communication apparatus not too large, and / or the distance between the multiple positions reported by the first communication apparatus not too large, so that the second communication apparatus can track the position of the first communication apparatus more accurately based on the information.

[0179] For example, the information used to indicate the position of the first communication device at one or more time instants in the first time period comprises at least one of: longitude information, latitude information, or altitude information of the position at which the first communication device is located. The position information of the first communication device can be determined based on an earth-centered earth-fixed (ECEF) coordinate system. The second communication device can fit a movement trajectory of the first communication device in the time period based on the discrete positions.

[0180] The position of the first communication device is taken as an example of longitude coordinate, latitude coordinate, and altitude coordinate in Table 1. As shown in Table 1, at time instant t1, the position of the first communication device has a precision coordinate x1, a latitude coordinate y1, and an altitude coordinate z1. The rest of the rows are similar and will not be described again. The altitude is represented by z.

[0181] Table 1: Example of information used to indicate the position of the first communication device at one or more time instants in the first time period

[0182] Information B3: information used to indicate the movement trajectory corresponding to the first communication device.

[0183] The information used to indicate the movement trajectory corresponding to the first communication device may, for example, comprise / be: information used to indicate a fitting formula of the movement trajectory of the first communication device, or a file used to indicate the movement trajectory of the first communication device, etc.

[0184] In yet another possible implementation, the information used to indicate the movement trajectory corresponding to the first communication device can comprise an identifier of the movement trajectory of the first communication device. The second communication device can look up a preconfigured correspondence between the identifier information of the movement trajectory and the movement trajectory, and take the movement trajectory corresponding to the received identifier of the movement trajectory as the movement trajectory of the first communication device.

[0185] Information B4: information used to indicate the first time period.

[0186] The information for indicating the first time period can comprise at least one of information for indicating a start time of the first time period, information for indicating a time length of the first time period, or information for indicating an end time of the first time period. For example, the information for indicating the first time period is the information for indicating the start time of the first time period, and the time length of the first time period is a preset value. The second communication device can determine the information of the first time period based on the information for indicating the start time of the first time period and the preset time length. The start time of the first time period can also be referred to as a start time, a valid time, a valid time point, or a valid time period in the embodiments of the present application. The time length of the first time period can also be referred to as a valid time length. The end time of the first time period can also be referred to as an end time, an invalid time, an invalid time point, or an invalid time period.

[0187] The information for indicating the first time period comprised in the first information can enable the second communication device to determine the valid time period of the received motion trajectory, so as to more accurately track the first communication device. This scheme can also avoid the second communication device using the motion trajectory beyond the valid time length of the motion trajectory, which can cause the tracking of the first communication device to fail.

[0188] The information for indicating the first time period can also be used to enable the second communication device to determine the motion trajectory. For example, the second communication device can find a correspondence between a preconfigured time period and a motion trajectory, and take the motion trajectory corresponding to the received first time period as the motion trajectory of the first communication device in the future first time period.

[0189] The first information can comprise at least one of the information B1, the information B2, the information B3, or the information B4. The first information can also comprise other more information, for example, the first information can further comprise information for indicating an identifier of the first communication device, etc. In another possible implementation, the first information can comprise at least one of the information B1, the information B2, or the information B3. Optionally, the first information can further comprise the information B4.

[0190] The first communication device can send the information of the motion trajectory once or multiple times. The first communication device can send the information of the motion trajectory periodically or non-periodically. The first information is the information of the motion trajectory sent by the first communication device once. The motion trajectory sent by the first communication device is / includes the motion trajectory in a future time period (the motion trajectory sent by the first communication device can also include the motion trajectory in a past time period). The time periods corresponding to the multiple motion trajectories reported by the first communication device can have no overlap or can have overlap. The lengths of the time periods corresponding to the two motion trajectories sent by the first communication device can be equal or can not be equal. The first communication device can also obtain the information of the time period corresponding to the motion trajectory sent once, for example, can be determined according to a pre-configured rule, or is indicated to the first communication device by another communication device, or is pre-defined by a protocol.

[0191] For example, the first communication device sends the first information, and the first information is used to indicate the motion trajectory in a future first time period. The first communication device also sends the fifth information, and the fifth information is used to indicate the motion trajectory in a future second time period. The second time period overlaps with the first time period, or the second time period does not overlap with the first time period. When the second time period overlaps with the first time period, the fifth information can also be regarded as the updated motion trajectory of the motion trajectory indicated by the first information. For example, the communication device receiving the fifth information can use the fifth information (may not use the first information) to determine the position of the first communication device in the overlapping time of the first time period and the second time period. For another example, the communication device receiving the fifth information can use the fifth information (may not use the first information) to determine the position of the first communication device in the overlapping time of the first time period and the second time period.

[0192] The following exemplary introduces several ways of sending the information of the motion trajectory by the first communication device through embodiment A1, embodiment A2 and embodiment A3. In embodiment A1, the first communication device can send the information of the motion trajectory based on the triggering of signaling. In embodiment A2, the first communication device obtains information used to indicate at least one time point, and sends the information used to indicate the motion trajectory at the at least one time point. The first communication device in embodiment A2 can send the information of the motion trajectory periodically or non-periodically. In embodiment A3, the first communication device sends the information of the motion trajectory based on the difference between the predicted position of the first communication device and the actual position of the first communication device.

[0193] In embodiment A1, the first communication device can send the information of the motion trajectory based on the triggering of signaling.

[0194] In embodiment A1, the first communication device can send the information of the motion trajectory based on a trigger of the signaling. For example, the second communication device sends information indicating the first communication device to send the information of the motion trajectory. After the first communication device receives the information indicating the first communication device to send the information of the motion trajectory, the first communication device sends the first information in response to the information indicating the first communication device to send the information of the motion trajectory. For example, the second communication device sends information indicating the first communication device to send the information of the motion trajectory. After the first communication device receives the information indicating the first communication device to send the information of the motion trajectory, the first communication device sends the fifth information in response to the information.

[0195] For example, the first communication device receives information #1 indicating the first communication device to send the information of the motion trajectory, and the first communication device sends motion trajectory #1 in response to the information #1. The first communication device receives information #2 indicating the first communication device to send the information of the motion trajectory, and the first communication device sends motion trajectory #2 in response to the information #2. For example, the motion trajectory #1 can be a motion trajectory from 8:00 to 8:05, and the motion trajectory #2 can be a motion trajectory from 8:05 to 8:10. For another example, the motion trajectory #1 can be a motion trajectory from 7:55 to 8:15, and the motion trajectory #2 can be a motion trajectory from 8:05 to 8:20. For example, the information indicating the first communication device to send the information of the motion trajectory is information #1, and the first information can be the motion trajectory #1. For another example, the information indicating the first communication device to send the information of the motion trajectory is information #2, and the fifth information can be the motion trajectory #2.

[0196] In this scheme, the second communication device can indicate the first communication device to send the information of the motion trajectory when the first communication device is required to report the motion trajectory. This scheme can enable the second communication device to determine whether the first communication device reports the motion trajectory based on actual needs, thereby reducing the signaling overhead of the first communication device while meeting the needs of the second communication device.

[0197] In embodiment A2, the first communication device acquires information indicating at least one time point, and sends information indicating the motion trajectory at the at least one time point.

[0198] In embodiment A2, the first communication device can periodically send information of multiple motion trajectories (see example A2.1), or can non-periodically send information of multiple motion trajectories (see example A2.2). Examples A2.1 and A2.2 are described below.

[0199] Example A2.1, for example, the first communication device can periodically send information indicating the movement trajectory of the first communication device in a future time period. The first time period belongs to the future time period. The first information belongs to the information indicating the movement trajectory of the first communication device in the future time period.

[0200] For example, the first communication device can send the movement trajectory once every interval period length. For example, the interval period length is 5 minutes, the first communication device sends the information of the movement trajectory once every 5 minutes, for example, the first communication device sends the information of the movement trajectory #1 at 8:00, the first communication device sends the information of the movement trajectory #2 at 8:05, and the first communication device sends the information of the movement trajectory #3 at 8:10. For example, the movement trajectory #1 can be the movement trajectory from 8:00 to 8:05, the movement trajectory #2 can be the movement trajectory from 8:05 to 8:10, and the movement trajectory #3 can be the movement trajectory from 8:10 to 8:15. For another example, the movement trajectory #1 can be the movement trajectory from 7:55 to 8:15, the movement trajectory #2 can be the movement trajectory from 8:05 to 8:20, and the movement trajectory #3 can be the movement trajectory from 8:10 to 8:22. For example, the first information and the fifth information can be the information of the movement trajectory reported in two periods, for example, the first information can be the information of the movement trajectory #1, and the fifth information can be the information of the movement trajectory #2.

[0201] The information indicating at least one time point can include information indicating at least one of the following: the interval period length, the start time point of sending the information of the movement trajectory, or the end time point of sending the information of the movement trajectory. The information indicating the time point of sending the movement trajectory can be protocol-defined, pre-configured at the first communication device side, or received by the first communication device side from other devices (such as the second communication device or other communication devices).

[0202] In this scheme, the first communication device can periodically report the movement trajectory, without the second communication device issuing multiple signaling, thereby reducing the signaling overhead at the second communication device side.

[0203] Example A2.2, the information indicating at least one time point can include at least one time point information. When the information indicating at least one time point includes multiple time points, the interval period length between two adjacent time points in these time points can be unequal (or equal).

[0204] The information indicating the time point of sending the movement trajectory can be protocol-defined, pre-configured at the first communication device side, or received by the first communication device side from other devices (such as the second communication device or other communication devices).

[0205] For example, the information indicating the time instants at which the motion trajectories are sent indicates the time instants 8:00, 8:05 and 8:10 respectively. The first communication device sends the information of the motion trajectory #1 at 8:00, the first communication device sends the information of the motion trajectory #2 at 8:05, and the first communication device sends the information of the motion trajectory #3 at 8:10. The relationship among the motion trajectory #1, the motion trajectory #2 and the motion trajectory #3 can be referred to the example in the embodiment A2, and will not be described herein. For example, the first information and the fifth information can be the information of the motion trajectories reported at two time instants, for example, the first information can be the information of the motion trajectory #1, and the fifth information can be the information of the motion trajectory #2.

[0206] In this scheme, the first communication device can report the motion trajectory at each time instant indicated by the second communication device, without the second communication device issuing multiple signaling, thereby reducing the signaling overhead on the side of the second communication device. Moreover, this scheme does not require the first communication device to periodically report the information of the motion trajectory, thereby reducing the signaling overhead on the side of the first communication device.

[0207] In the embodiment A2, the step 402 can be performed or not performed. In another possible embodiment, the information indicating the time instants at which the motion trajectories are sent can be included in the information indicating that the first communication device sends the information of the motion trajectory.

[0208] In the embodiment A3, the first communication device sends the information of the motion trajectory based on the difference between the predicted position of the first communication device and the actual position of the first communication device.

[0209] For example, the first communication device estimates the first position of the first communication device at the first time instant according to the information of the motion trajectory indicated by the first information. The first time instant belongs to the first time period. The first communication device obtains the second position of the first communication device at the first time instant. For the sake of distinction, the estimated position of the first communication device at the first time instant is referred to as the first position, and the actual position of the first communication device at the first time instant is referred to as the second position in the embodiments of the present application. The first communication device determines the difference between the predicted position of the first communication device and the actual first communication device based on the first position and the second position, and determines whether the information of the motion trajectory needs to be reported again based on the difference. For example, the first communication device updates the motion trajectory of the first communication device in the case that the difference is large (for example, the difference can be compared with a first threshold). For another example, the first communication device does not update the motion trajectory of the first communication device in the case that the difference is small. The first threshold in the embodiments of the present application can also be referred to as a difference threshold, which can be denoted as track_thr.

[0210] For example, the first communication device sends the fifth information if the difference between the second location and the first location (e.g., a distance value) is greater than a first threshold. For another example, the first communication device does not send the fifth information if the difference between the second location and the first location is not greater than the first threshold. In a case where the difference between the second location and the first location is equal to the first threshold, the first communication device can or can not send the fifth information, and the specific action can be determined based on actual implementation.

[0211] In another possible implementation, the first communication device can have a small difference (e.g., less than the first threshold) between the actual location and the predicted location based on the first information throughout the first time period. In this case, the first communication device can send information indicating a movement trajectory in a future time period again at or before the end of the first time period, e.g., the fifth information, in which case the second time period indicated by the fifth information can have no overlap (or partial overlap) with the first time period. Alternatively, the first communication device can start updating the tracking area and / or the notification area after the end of the first time period. The updating of the tracking area and / or the notification area by the embodiments of the present application can also be replaced by deactivating the mechanism for stopping the updating of the tracking area and / or the notification area.

[0212] In a possible implementation, the first threshold can be defined by a protocol, preconfigured at the first communication device, or received by the first communication device from another device (e.g., the second communication device or another communication device).

[0213] In embodiment A3, the first communication device determines whether to send the information of the movement trajectory based on the difference between the predicted location and the actual location of the first communication device. In this way, the first communication device can send the information of the movement trajectory in a case where the deviation between the predicted location and the actual location is large, which can improve the accuracy of tracking of the first communication device, and also reduce the amount of sending of the movement trajectory, thereby reducing resource consumption.

[0214] The above-mentioned embodiment A1, embodiment A2 and embodiment A3 can be implemented independently or in combination. For example, the above-mentioned embodiment A1 and embodiment A2 are used in combination, in which case the first communication device can send the motion trajectory at a specified time, and the first communication device can also send the motion trajectory after receiving the signaling for triggering the first communication device to send the motion trajectory. For another example, the above-mentioned embodiment A1 and embodiment A3 can also be used in combination, for example, the first communication device sends the motion trajectory in the case where the difference between the estimated position of the first communication device and the actual position of the first communication device is large, and the first communication device can also send the motion trajectory after receiving the signaling for triggering the first communication device to send the motion trajectory. Alternatively, the first communication device sends information indicating the difference between the estimated position of the first communication device and the actual position of the first communication device to the second communication device or other communication device, so that the second communication device or other communication device sends the signaling for triggering the first communication device to send the motion trajectory.

[0215] In step 404, the second communication device sends second information.

[0216] Correspondingly, the first communication device receives the second information. The second information is used to instruct the first communication device to stop updating the identification of the area.

[0217] In the embodiments of the present application, the second information used to instruct the first communication device to stop updating the identification of the area includes / is: the second information is used to instruct the first communication device to stop updating the tracking area and / or notification area. For example, the area identification can be used to implement tracking of the first communication device. The "area identification" can include the identification of one or more cells, and the "area" can include one or more cells. The granularity and name of the "area" are not limited in the embodiments of the present application, for example, the "area" can include at least one of the area corresponding to the RNA, the area corresponding to the TA or the area corresponding to the TAL. Correspondingly, the "area identification" can be replaced by at least one of the RNA ID, the TAC, the TAI or the TAL. The "area" can also include a future defined area, or an area with a future other name, for example, the "area" can include a plurality of areas corresponding to the TAL, and for another example, the "area" is a newly defined area. For ease of understanding, the subsequent content is introduced by taking the "area identification" stopped by the first communication device for updating as the "tracking area and / or notification area" as an example, and in the future, the "area" and the "area identification" can have other names or definitions. Since the first communication device stops updating the area identification, the scheme can reduce the signaling overhead caused by the tracking of the position of the first communication device.

[0218] In step 405, the first communication device stops updating the identification of the area of the first communication device.

[0219] In another possible implementation, the first communication device stopping updating the area identity can comprise / replace with: the first communication device stopping updating a tracking area and / or a notification area of the first communication device. In another possible implementation, the first communication device stopping updating the tracking area and / or the notification area of the first communication device can comprise / replace with: the first communication device stopping updating at least one of a TAC, a TAI, a TAL or a RNA ID of the first communication device.

[0220] The first communication device can stop updating the area identity indicated by the second information in response to the second information. For example, in a case that the second information indicates the first communication device to stop updating a tracking area (e.g., stop updating a TA and / or a TAL), the first communication device stops updating the tracking area (e.g., stop updating the TA and / or the TAL). For example, in a case that the second information indicates the first communication device to stop updating a TA, the first communication device stops updating the TA. For example, in a case that the second information indicates the first communication device to stop updating a TAL, the first communication device stops updating the TAL. For example, in a case that the second information indicates the first communication device to stop updating a TA and a TAL, the first communication device stops updating the TA and the TAL. For another example, in a case that the second information indicates the first communication device to stop updating a notification area (e.g., a RNA), the first communication device stops updating the notification area (e.g., the RNA). For another example, in a case that the second information indicates the first communication device to stop updating a tracking area and a notification area, the first communication device stops updating the tracking area and the notification area.

[0221] In embodiments of the present application, the first communication device stopping updating the tracking area and / or the notification area of the first communication device can replace with at least one of: the first communication device stopping updating the area identity, the first communication device stopping updating the TA, the first communication device stopping updating the TAC, the first communication device stopping updating the TAI, the first communication device stopping updating the TAL, or the first communication device stopping updating the RNA ID.

[0222] In a possible implementation, the first communication device stops updating the area identity indicated by the second information in response to the second information after receiving the second information. In this way, the first communication device can stop updating the tracking area and / or the notification area based on the triggering of the signaling, which can facilitate the second communication device to control the operation of the first communication device to stop updating the tracking area and / or the notification area. On the other hand, the second communication device can configure whether the first communication device stops updating the tracking area and / or the notification area according to the more real-time, more accurate and more flexible motion trajectory of the first communication device.

[0223] For example, the first communication device can obtain information indicating a third time point, the third time point being a time point at which the first communication device stops updating the tracking area and / or the notification area. The first communication device stops updating the tracking area and / or the notification area of the first communication device at the third time point. In this scheme, the first communication device can stop updating the tracking area and / or the notification area at the third time point after receiving the information indicating the third time point, which can provide a more accurate time for stopping updating the tracking area and / or the notification area. In another aspect, the first communication device can obtain the third time point in advance, so that the first communication device can more accurately stop updating the tracking area and / or the notification area. The first communication device can determine the third time point according to a preset rule, or receive information indicating the third time point from another device. For example, the second communication device can send information indicating the third time point to the first communication device in advance, so that the first communication device can receive the information indicating the third time point in advance. The information indicating the third time point and the second information can be carried in the same message or in different messages. The third time point can be the current time point or a future time point. In step 405, the first communication device can stop updating the tracking area and / or the notification area of the first communication device at the third time point. The information indicating the third time point and the second information can be carried in the same message or in different messages.

[0224] Since the first communication device stops updating the tracking area and / or the notification area, the network device side cannot track the first communication device based on the tracking area and / or the notification area. For example, in the case that the first communication device is in an RRC idle state, the core network device needs to track the first communication device according to the maintained tracking area and / or notification area identifier. If the first communication device stops updating the tracking area and / or the notification area, the core network device cannot track the first communication device. For another example, in the case that the first communication device is in an RRC inactive state, the access network device needs to track the first communication device according to the maintained tracking area and / or notification area identifier. If the first communication device stops updating the tracking area and / or the notification area, the access network device cannot track the first communication device.

[0225] To solve the above problems, the first information in the embodiments of the present application can be used to track the first communication device. For example, in the case that the second communication device or another communication device needs to page the first communication device, the second communication device or another communication device can determine the location of the first communication device based on the obtained first information, and determine the access network devices surrounding the location as the access network devices paging the first communication device. Then, these access network devices page the first communication device.

[0226] It can be seen from the above scheme that, in the scheme, the first communication device does not need to update the tracking area and / or notification area, thereby saving signaling overhead. In another aspect, in the scheme, the second communication device or other communication device can determine the location of the first communication device based on the first information, and then determine the access network device that needs to page the first communication device, without the access network devices in the entire tracking area (e.g., all access network devices in the TAL or TA) (or without all access network devices in the entire RNA) paging the first communication device, thereby saving the overhead of paging messages.

[0227] In the scheme provided by the embodiments of the present application, the first communication device stopping the tracking area and / or notification area update can be replaced by: the first communication device activating a mechanism for stopping the tracking area and / or notification area, or the first communication device using the mechanism for stopping the tracking area and / or notification area. The first communication device can also deactivate or stop using the mechanism for stopping the tracking area and / or notification area. In the embodiments of the present application, the first communication device deactivating the mechanism for stopping the tracking area and / or notification area can be replaced by: the first communication device stopping using the mechanism for stopping the tracking area and / or notification area, or the first communication device activating the tracking area and / or notification area update, or the first communication device updating the tracking area and / or notification area.

[0228] For example, in the scheme provided in FIG. 4, step 406 can also be included. Step 406 can also not be included, and FIG. 4 is introduced by way of example with step 406 included:

[0229] In step 406, the first communication device determines to activate the update of the area identifier.

[0230] The first communication device determining to activate the update of the area identifier can be replaced by, for example: the first communication device determining to activate the tracking area and / or notification area. The description of the area and the area identifier can be referred to the foregoing, and will not be described here again. In the embodiments of the present application, part of the content is introduced by taking the tracking area and / or notification area as an example, and the tracking area and / or notification area can be replaced by other names, for example, replaced by the name of other areas.

[0231] For example, after determining to initiate the update of the tracking area and / or the notification area, the first communication device can update the tracking area and / or the notification area. For example, the first communication device receives information indicating the tracking area and / or the notification area in which the first communication device is located. The first communication device updates the tracking area and / or the notification area of the first communication device according to the information indicating the tracking area and / or the notification area in which the first communication device is located. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first communication device updating the tracking area and / or the notification area can include / be: updating at least one of the TAC, the TAI, the TAL or the RNA ID of the first communication device. The first communication device updating the tracking area and / or the notification area can also include the first communication device updating the identification of a future defined area, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0232] The following describes several manners in which the first communication device determines to initiate the update of the tracking area and / or the notification area by way of embodiment C1, embodiment C2 and embodiment C3. In embodiment C1, the first communication device can determine to initiate the update of the tracking area and / or the notification area based on the triggering of the signaling. In embodiment C2, the first communication device acquires information indicating a second time point, and determines to initiate the update of the tracking area and / or the notification area at the second time point. The second time point is the time point at which the update of the tracking area and / or the notification area is initiated. In embodiment C3, the first communication device determines whether to initiate the update of the tracking area and / or the notification area based on the difference between the predicted position and the actual position of the first communication device.

[0233] In embodiment C1, the first communication device can determine to initiate the update of the tracking area and / or the notification area based on the triggering of the signaling.

[0234] For example, the second communication device or another communication device sends information indicating that the first communication device updates the tracking area and / or the notification area. The first communication device receives the information indicating that the first communication device updates the tracking area and / or the notification area. The first communication device updates the tracking area and / or the notification area of the first communication device in response to the information indicating that the first communication device updates the tracking area and / or the notification area. In this embodiment, the second communication device or another communication device can control whether the first communication device updates the tracking area and / or the notification area through signaling, so as to flexibly adjust the mechanism used by the first communication device, thereby achieving a better balance between more accurate tracking of the first communication device and saving of signaling overhead. In another aspect, this scheme can also avoid the failure of the second communication device to track the first communication device due to the inaccuracy of the movement trajectory of the first communication device. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the “movement trajectory” can also be replaced by other names, such as: position trajectory, action route, movement route, or movement trajectory, etc.

[0235] Since the first communication device has moved, the second communication device can still be in communication with the first communication device, or another communication device other than the second communication device can be in communication with the first communication device. The other communication device can communicate with the second communication device (for example, through an Xn interface or another communication device) to obtain relevant information of the first communication device (for example, the first information described above can be obtained).

[0236] In a possible implementation, the first communication device can send, to a third communication device (for the convenience of understanding, the second communication device or the other communication device is referred to as the third communication device, and the relevant description of the third communication device can be referred to the foregoing, and will not be described again), relevant information of a difference between a position of the first communication device predicted based on the motion trajectory and an actual position of the first communication device, so that the third communication device determines whether to instruct the first communication device to start updating the tracking area and / or the notification area.

[0237] For example, the first communication device estimates a first position of the first communication device at a first time according to a motion trajectory. The first time belongs to a first time period. The first communication device obtains a second position of the first communication device at the first time, for example, the first communication device determines the second position of the first communication device at the first time by using a global positioning system (GPS), or the first communication device determines the second position of the first communication device at the first time by using a low-orbit satellite signal. The first communication device determines a difference between the second position and the first position (for example, the difference = |second position-first position|). The first communication device sends seventh information, and the seventh information is used to indicate the difference and / or a relationship between the difference and a first threshold. The relationship between the difference and the first threshold may, for example, include any one of the following: the difference is greater than the first threshold, the difference is less than the first threshold, the difference is not greater than (or less than or equal to) the first threshold, the difference is not less than (or greater than or equal to) the first threshold, or the difference is equal to the first threshold. For another example, the relationship between the difference and the first threshold includes a difference between the difference and the first threshold (for example, a value of (difference-Track_thr)) or an absolute value of the difference between the difference and the first threshold (for example, a value of (|difference-Track_thr|)). In the embodiment of the present application, Track_thr is the first threshold.

[0238] Correspondingly, the third communication device receives the seventh information. The third communication device can determine whether to instruct the first communication device to start updating the tracking area and / or the notification area according to the seventh information. For example, the third communication device determines that the difference is greater than the first threshold value, and then sends information for instructing the first communication device to update the tracking area and / or the notification area. For another example, the third communication device determines that the difference is less than the first threshold value, and then sends information for instructing the first communication device to update the tracking area and / or the notification area. For yet another example, the third communication device determines that the difference is equal to the first threshold value, and can or can not send information for instructing the first communication device to update the tracking area and / or the notification area. The specific execution rule in this case can be flexibly set. Since the first communication device can send information related to the difference between the position of the first communication device estimated based on the motion trajectory and the actual position of the first communication device to the third communication device, the third communication device can more reasonably determine whether to instruct the first communication device to update the tracking area and / or the notification area, thereby achieving a better balance between more accurate tracking of the first communication device and saving signaling overhead.

[0239] In yet another possible implementation, the first communication device sends the seventh information when the difference is greater than the first threshold value. The third communication device receives the seventh information and determines to instruct the first communication device to start updating the tracking area and / or the notification area. Alternatively, the third communication device sends information for instructing the first communication device to update the tracking area and / or the notification area in response to the seventh information. In this implementation, the first communication device can not send the seventh information when the difference is less than the first threshold value. The first communication device can send or not send the seventh information when the difference is equal to the first threshold value. This implementation can reduce the amount of information sent by the first communication device, thereby reducing signaling overhead.

[0240] In this scheme, the first communication device can start updating the tracking area and / or the notification area when the difference between the position predicted based on the motion trajectory and the actual position is large, thereby enabling more accurate tracking of the position of the first communication device.

[0241] In implementation C2, the first communication device acquires information for indicating a second time point at which the first communication device determines to start updating the tracking area and / or the notification area. The second time point is a time point at which the first communication device starts updating the tracking area and / or the notification area.

[0242] The second time point can be defined by a protocol, pre-configured at the first communication device, received by the first communication device from another device (for example, the second communication device or another communication device), or determined by the first communication device based on a preset rule. For example, the first communication device determines a time length for stopping updating the tracking area and / or the notification area, starts timing when stopping updating the tracking area and / or the notification area, and sets the time point at which the time length is satisfied as the second time point.

[0243] For another example, the third communication device sends information indicating the second time. Correspondingly, the first communication device receives the information indicating the second time. The second time is the time for starting the update of the tracking area and / or the notification area. The first communication device updates the tracking area and / or the notification area of the first communication device at or after the second time in response to the information indicating the second time.

[0244] In this embodiment, the first communication device can start the update of the tracking area and / or the notification area at the second time according to the obtained second time. This scheme does not need the other communication device to send signaling indicating the first communication device to update the tracking area and / or the notification area, thereby reducing the signaling overhead.

[0245] In an embodiment C3, the first communication device determines whether to start the update of the tracking area and / or the notification area based on a difference between the predicted position of the first communication device and the actual position of the first communication device.

[0246] For example, the first communication device determines whether to start the update of the tracking area and / or the notification area according to a difference between the position of the first communication device predicted based on the motion trajectory and the actual position of the first communication device. For example, the first communication device estimates a first position of the first communication device at a first time according to the motion trajectory. The first time belongs to a first time period. The first communication device obtains a second position of the first communication device at the first time. For example, the first communication device updates the tracking area and / or the notification area of the first communication device in a case that the difference between the second position and the first position is greater than a first threshold. In this way, the accuracy of tracking the first communication device can be improved. For another example, the first communication device continues to stop the update of the tracking area and / or the notification area in a case that the difference between the second position and the first position is less than the first threshold. In this way, the signaling overhead can be reduced. For another example, the first communication device can start or not start the update of the tracking area and / or the notification area in a case that the difference between the second position and the first position is equal to the first threshold. The specific implementation in this case can be flexibly set. In this way, the flexibility of the scheme can be improved. The related schemes in this part can be referred to the foregoing description and will not be described herein again.

[0247] In a possible embodiment, when the first communication device determines to start the update of the tracking area and / or the notification area, the first communication device can send information indicating the start of the update of the tracking area and / or the notification area to the third communication device to inform the third communication device that the first communication device starts the update of the tracking area and / or the notification area. The information indicating the start of the update of the tracking area and / or the notification area can also be used to request the start of the update of the tracking area and / or the notification area. In this embodiment, the third communication device can further instruct the first communication device to start the update of the tracking area and / or the notification area.

[0248] In an embodiment C4, the first communication device updates the tracking area and / or the notification area of the first communication device in a case that the accuracy of the first communication device positioning function is less than a sixth threshold.

[0249] For example, the first communication device determines whether to initiate the update of the tracking area and / or the notification area based on the accuracy of the first communication device positioning function. For example, the first communication device updates the tracking area and / or the notification area of the first communication device in a case that the accuracy of the first communication device positioning function is less than a sixth threshold. In this way, the accuracy of tracking the first communication device can be improved. For another example, the first communication device continues to stop the update of the tracking area and / or the notification area in a case that the accuracy of the first communication device positioning function is greater than the sixth threshold. In this way, the signaling overhead can be reduced. For another example, the first communication device can initiate or not initiate the update of the tracking area and / or the notification area in a case that the accuracy of the first communication device positioning function is equal to the sixth threshold. In this case, the specific implementation can be flexibly set. In this way, the flexibility of the scheme can be improved. The related scheme of this part can be referred to the foregoing description, and will not be repeated here.

[0250] FIG. 5 exemplarily shows a transition diagram of the activation state and the deactivation state of the mechanism of the first communication device for stopping the update of the tracking area and / or the notification area. In a case that the first communication device is in the activation state of the mechanism of stopping the update of the tracking area and / or the notification area, the first communication device stops the update of the tracking area and / or the notification area. In a case that the first communication device is in the deactivation state of the mechanism of stopping the update of the tracking area and / or the notification area, the first communication device initiates the update of the tracking area and / or the notification area.

[0251] As shown in FIG. 5, the first communication device can set the state of the mechanism of stopping the update of the tracking area and / or the notification area to the deactivation state in a case that condition #1 is met. For example, the first communication device can switch from the activation state of the mechanism of stopping the update of the tracking area and / or the notification area to the deactivation state (or continue to maintain the deactivation state) in a case that condition #1 is met. Wherein, condition #1 can include at least one of the following: receiving information indicating that the first communication device updates the tracking area and / or the notification area (which can be referred to the foregoing embodiment C1); reaching the time of initiating the update of the tracking area and / or the notification area (which can be referred to the foregoing embodiment C2); the difference between the position of the first communication device estimated based on the motion trajectory and the actual position of the first communication device is less than a first threshold (which can be referred to the foregoing embodiment C3); the difference between the position of the first communication device estimated based on the motion trajectory and the actual position of the first communication device is equal to the first threshold (which can be referred to the foregoing embodiment C3); the accuracy of the first communication device positioning function is less than a sixth threshold (which can be referred to the foregoing embodiment C4); or, the accuracy of the first communication device positioning function is equal to the sixth threshold (which can be referred to the foregoing embodiment C4).

[0252] As shown in FIG. 5, the first communication apparatus can set the state of the mechanism of stopping updating the tracking area and / or the notification area to the active state in the case that the condition #2 is met. For example, the first communication apparatus can switch from the deactivated state of the mechanism of stopping updating the tracking area and / or the notification area to the active state (or continue to maintain the active state) in the case that the condition #2 is met. The condition #2 can include at least one of the following: receiving information (e.g., the second information described above) indicating that the first communication apparatus stops updating the tracking area and / or the notification area; reaching a time (e.g., the third time described above) at which the first communication apparatus stops updating the tracking area and / or the notification area; a difference between the position of the first communication apparatus estimated based on the motion trajectory and the actual position of the first communication apparatus being greater than a first threshold (see the embodiment C3 described above); or the accuracy of the positioning function of the first communication apparatus being greater than a sixth threshold (see the embodiment C4 described above). The condition #1 and the condition #2 described above are examples, and the condition #1 and the condition #2 can be set more flexibly in actual applications.

[0253] FIG. 6 exemplarily shows the active state and the deactivated state of the mechanism of stopping updating the tracking area and / or the notification area of the first communication apparatus, and a transition diagram of the first communication apparatus updating the tracking area and / or the notification area.

[0254] The description of the active state and the deactivated state of the mechanism of stopping updating the tracking area and / or the notification area of the first communication apparatus can be referred to the description of FIG. 5, and will not be repeated here. Compared with FIG. 5, FIG. 6 adds a state: the state of the first communication apparatus updating the tracking area and / or the notification area.

[0255] As shown in FIG. 6, the first communication apparatus can set the state of the mechanism of stopping updating the tracking area and / or the notification area to the deactivated state in the case that the condition #1 is met. In this case, the first communication apparatus can enter the state of updating the tracking area and / or the notification area, i.e., the state of updating the tracking area and / or the notification area, for example, at least one of the TAC, the TAI, the TAL or the RNA can be updated.

[0256] As shown in FIG. 6, the first communication apparatus can set the state of the mechanism of stopping updating the tracking area and / or the notification area to the active state in the case that the condition #2 is met. For example, the first communication apparatus can switch from the state of updating the tracking area and / or the notification area to the active state of the mechanism of stopping updating the tracking area and / or the notification area. The other contents in FIG. 6 can be referred to the related description of FIG. 5 described above, and will not be repeated here.

[0257] Based on the content shown in FIG. 4, FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, FIG. 7 exemplarily shows another scenario applicable to the embodiments of the present application, and FIG. 7 takes the first communication device as an airplane for example, and FIG. 7 exemplarily shows the movement trajectory of the airplane in a future first time period. The airplane can send discrete positions on the future movement trajectory to a second communication device, and the second communication device can be the network device #1 or the core network device. The airplane can receive the second information from the second communication device, and stop updating the TAL. When the third communication device (for example, the network device #3 or the core network device) needs to page the airplane at time #1, the third communication device can determine the position of the airplane at time #1 according to the movement trajectory of the airplane, and instruct the access network device of at least one cell corresponding to the position to send a paging message to the airplane. In the embodiments of the present application, the third communication device and the second communication device can be the same device, for example, both are the core network device (or the chip or chip system inside the core network device) or the access network device (or the chip or chip system inside the access network device). The third communication device and the second communication device can also be different devices, and the third communication device can obtain the movement trajectory of the first communication device through the communication (for example, direct communication or indirect communication) between the third communication device and the second communication device.

[0258] The other content of the scenario shown in FIG. 7 can refer to the description of the scenario of FIG. 3, and will not be repeated. FIG. 3 and FIG. 7 give two examples of scenarios applicable to the embodiments of the present application, and the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to other scenarios, for example, FIG. 8 exemplarily shows another scenario applicable to the embodiments of the present application, and FIG. 8 takes the first communication device as a mobile phone for example, and other content can refer to the description of FIG. 3 and FIG. 7, and will not be repeated.

[0259] The signaling or information (such as one or more of the information for instructing the first communication device to send the motion trajectory, the information for indicating the time (for example, the second time, the third time, or other time), the information for indicating the threshold (for example, at least one of the second threshold, the third threshold, the first threshold, the fifth threshold, the fourth threshold, or the sixth threshold), the second information, the information for instructing the first communication device to update the tracking area and / or the notification area, and the information for indicating the tracking area and / or the notification area where the location of the first communication device is located) sent by the second communication device and / or the third communication device in the embodiments of the present application can have various sending manners, such as any of the signaling or information can be carried in at least one of the system information block (SIB) 1, the SIB 19, other system information (OSI), the master information block (MIB), or the broadcast information of the physical broadcast channel (PBCH) message. The signaling or information (such as one or more of the information for instructing the first communication device to send the motion trajectory, the information for indicating the time (for example, the second time, the third time, or other time), the information for indicating the threshold (for example, at least one of the second threshold, the third threshold, the first threshold, the fifth threshold, the fourth threshold, or the sixth threshold), the second information, the information for instructing the first communication device to update the tracking area and / or the notification area, and the information for indicating the tracking area and / or the notification area where the location of the first communication device is located) sent by the second communication device and / or the third communication device is sent by the network device in a broadcast, multicast, or unicast manner. Broadcasting or multicasting the above signaling can avoid scheduling different resources for sending the above signaling, save the signaling overhead of scheduling resources, and reduce the system scheduling complexity.

[0260] In another possible implementation, if transmitted in the radio resource control (RRC) connection setup phase and the subsequent communication process, the signaling or information (such as one or more of the information for indicating the first communication device to transmit the motion trajectory, the information for indicating the time (e.g., the second time, the third time, or other time), the information for indicating the threshold (e.g., at least one of the second threshold, the third threshold, the first threshold, the fifth threshold, the fourth threshold, or the sixth threshold), the second information, the information for indicating the first communication device to update the tracking area and / or the notification area, and the information for indicating the tracking area and / or the notification area where the location of the first communication device is located) transmitted by the second communication device and / or the third communication device can be carried in at least one of the RRC signaling (e.g., RRC setup message, RRC reconfiguration signaling (RRCReconfiguration), RRC resume signaling (RRCResume), etc.), downlink control information (DCI), group DCI, media access control (MAC) control element (CE), or timing advance command (TAC). The signaling or information (such as one or more of the information for indicating the first communication device to transmit the motion trajectory, the information for indicating the time (e.g., the second time, the third time, or other time), the information for indicating the threshold (e.g., at least one of the second threshold, the third threshold, the first threshold, the fifth threshold, the fourth threshold, or the sixth threshold), the second information, the information for indicating the first communication device to update the tracking area and / or the notification area, and the information for indicating the tracking area and / or the notification area where the location of the first communication device is located) transmitted by the second communication device and / or the third communication device can be indicated by information or table, or transmitted by unicast or groupcast with data transmission or in a separately allocated physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) carrying. The advantage of unicast or groupcast transmitting the above signaling is that each / group of parameter value can be flexibly controlled, for example, different parameter values can be configured according to different locations or different areas of each / group of UE to achieve the purpose of optimizing system parameters and optimizing communication performance / system communication performance.

[0261] It should be appreciated that, in order to realize the functions in the above-described embodiments, the first communication device, the second communication device, and the third communication device can include hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to respective functions. Those skilled in the art should easily understand that, in combination with the units and method steps of the examples described in the embodiments disclosed in the present application, the present application can be realized in the form of hardware, or computer software, or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a certain function is realized in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application scenarios and design constraints of the technical solutions.

[0262] Based on the same concept, FIG. 9, FIG. 10, and FIG. 11 are structural diagrams of possible communication devices provided by the embodiments of the present application. The communication devices shown in FIG. 9, FIG. 10, and FIG. 11 can be used to realize the functions of the first communication device, the second communication device, or the third communication device in the above-described method embodiments, and thus can also realize the beneficial effects possessed by the above-described method embodiments. In the embodiments of the present application, the communication device can be a terminal device, a chip (or chip system, or circuit) inside a terminal device, a network device, or a chip (or chip system, or circuit) inside a network device as involved in FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B, FIG. 2C, FIG. 2D, FIG. 2E, FIG. 2F, FIG. 2G, FIG. 2H, FIG. 2I, FIG. 2G, FIG. 3, or FIG. 4. The descriptions of the terminal device and the network device can be referred to the descriptions of FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B, FIG. 2C, FIG. 2D, FIG. 2E, FIG. 2F, FIG. 2G, FIG. 2H, FIG. 2I, FIG. 2G, FIG. 3, or FIG. 4, and will not be repeated here.

[0263] As shown in FIG. 9, the communication device 1300 includes a processing unit 1310 and a transceiver unit 1320. The communication device 1300 is used to realize the functions of the first communication device, the second communication device, or the third communication device in the above-described method embodiments shown in FIG. 4. The transceiver unit 1320 can also be referred to as a communication unit. The transceiver unit 1320 can include a sending unit and a receiving unit.

[0264] When the communication device 1300 is used to realize the functions of the first communication device in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 4, in one possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is configured to: send, by the transceiver unit 1320, the first information, receive, by the transceiver unit 1320, the second information, and stop updating the tracking area and / or the notification area of the first communication device.

[0265] When the communication device 1300 is used to realize the functions of the first communication device in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 4, in one possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is configured to: obtain information indicating a third time, and stop updating the tracking area and / or the notification area of the first communication device at the third time.

[0266] When the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the function of the first communication apparatus in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 4, in one possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is configured to: send, by the transceiver 1320, the third information; or send, by the transceiver 1320, the fourth information.

[0267] When the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the function of the first communication apparatus in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 4, in one possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is configured to: send, by the transceiver 1320, the third information, in the case that at least one of the following is met: the error corresponding to the predicted motion trajectory of the first communication apparatus is less than the second threshold; or, the length of the predicted motion trajectory of the first communication apparatus is greater than the third threshold.

[0268] When the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the function of the first communication apparatus in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 4, in one possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is configured to: acquire information indicating the second threshold and / or information indicating the third threshold.

[0269] When the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the function of the first communication apparatus in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 4, in one possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is configured to: receive, by the transceiver 1320, information indicating that the first communication apparatus sends the motion trajectory; and send, by the transceiver 1320, the first information in response to the information indicating that the first communication apparatus sends the motion trajectory.

[0270] When the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the function of the first communication apparatus in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 4, in one possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is configured to: periodically send, by the transceiver 1320, information indicating the motion trajectory of the first communication apparatus in a future time period.

[0271] When the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the function of the first communication apparatus in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 4, in one possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is configured to: send, by the transceiver 1320, the fifth information.

[0272] When the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the function of the first communication apparatus in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 4, in one possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is configured to: receive, by the transceiver 1320, the sixth information, and send, by the transceiver 1320, the fifth information in response to the sixth information.

[0273] When the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the functions of the first communication apparatus in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 4, in one possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is configured to: acquire information indicating at least one time point, the at least one time point being a time point at which the first communication apparatus sends the motion trajectory, and send, through the transceiver unit 1320, the fifth information at a time point in the at least one time point.

[0274] When the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the functions of the first communication apparatus in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 4, in one possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is configured to: estimate a first position of the first communication apparatus at a first time point according to the motion trajectory, the first time point belonging to a first time period, acquire a second position of the first communication apparatus at the first time point, and send, through the transceiver unit 1320, the fifth information in a case where a difference between the second position and the first position is greater than a first threshold.

[0275] When the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the functions of the first communication apparatus in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 4, in one possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is configured to: determine to start updating a tracking area and / or a notification area, receive, through the transceiver unit 1320, information indicating a tracking area and / or a notification area in which the first communication apparatus is located, and update the tracking area and / or the notification area of the first communication apparatus according to the information indicating the tracking area and / or the notification area in which the first communication apparatus is located.

[0276] When the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the functions of the first communication apparatus in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 4, in one possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is configured to: receive, through the transceiver unit 1320, information indicating that the first communication apparatus updates a tracking area and / or a notification area, and determine to start updating the tracking area and / or the notification area based on the information indicating that the first communication apparatus updates the tracking area and / or the notification area.

[0277] When the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the functions of the first communication apparatus in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 4, in one possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is configured to: estimate a first position of the first communication apparatus at a first time point according to the motion trajectory, the first time point belonging to a first time period, acquire a second position of the first communication apparatus at the first time point, determine a difference between the second position and the first position, and send, through the transceiver unit 1320, seventh information, the seventh information being used to indicate the difference and / or a relationship between the difference and a first threshold.

[0278] When the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the functions of the first communication apparatus in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 4, in one possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is configured to: send, through the transceiver unit 1320, the seventh information in a case where the difference is greater than the first threshold.

[0279] When the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the function of the first communication apparatus in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 4, in one possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is configured to: receive, by the transceiver 1320, information indicating a second time, the second time being a time at which updating of the tracking area and / or the notification area is initiated, and determine to initiate updating of the tracking area and / or the notification area at the second time.

[0280] When the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the function of the first communication apparatus in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 4, in one possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is configured to: estimate a first position of the first communication apparatus at a first time according to the motion trajectory, obtain a second position of the first communication apparatus at the first time, and determine to initiate updating of the tracking area and / or the notification area in a case that a difference between the second position and the first position is greater than a first threshold.

[0281] When the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the function of the first communication apparatus in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 4, in one possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is configured to: determine to initiate updating of the tracking area and / or the notification area in a case that an accuracy of a positioning function of the first communication apparatus is less than a sixth threshold.

[0282] When the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the function of the first communication apparatus in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 4, in one possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is configured to: send, by the transceiver 1320, information indicating that the first communication apparatus updates the tracking area and / or the notification area.

[0283] When the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the function of the second communication apparatus in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 4, in one possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is configured to: receive, by the transceiver 1320, the first information, and send, by the transceiver 1320, the second information.

[0284] When the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the function of the second communication apparatus in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 4, in one possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is configured to: send, by the transceiver 1320, information indicating a third time.

[0285] When the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the function of the second communication apparatus in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 4, in one possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is configured to: receive, by the transceiver 1320, the third information; or receive, by the transceiver 1320, the fourth information.

[0286] When the communication device 1300 is configured to perform the functions of the second communication device in the method embodiment illustrated in Figure 4, in a possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is configured to: receive, by the transceiver 1320, information indicating the second threshold value and / or information indicating the third threshold value.

[0287] When the communication device 1300 is configured to perform the functions of the second communication device in the method embodiment illustrated in Figure 4, in a possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is configured to: transmit, by the transceiver 1320, information indicating that the first communication device transmits the motion trajectory.

[0288] When the communication device 1300 is configured to perform the functions of the second communication device in the method embodiment illustrated in Figure 4, in a possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is configured to: periodically receive, by the transceiver 1320, information indicating the motion trajectory of the first communication device in a future time period.

[0289] When the communication device 1300 is configured to perform the functions of the third communication device in the method embodiment illustrated in Figure 4, in a possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is configured to: receive, by the transceiver 1320, the fifth information.

[0290] When the communication device 1300 is configured to perform the functions of the third communication device in the method embodiment illustrated in Figure 4, in a possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is configured to: transmit, by the transceiver 1320, information indicating that the first communication device transmits the motion trajectory.

[0291] When the communication device 1300 is configured to perform the functions of the third communication device in the method embodiment illustrated in Figure 4, in a possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is configured to: transmit, by the transceiver 1320, information indicating at least one time point, the at least one time point being a time point at which the first communication device transmits the motion trajectory, the fifth information being transmitted at a time point in the at least one time point.

[0292] When the communication device 1300 is configured to perform the functions of the third communication device in the method embodiment illustrated in Figure 4, in a possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is configured to: receive, by the transceiver 1320, information indicating that the first communication device updates the tracking area and / or the notification area.

[0293] When the communication device 1300 is configured to perform the functions of the third communication device in the method embodiment illustrated in Figure 4, in a possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is configured to: transmit, by the transceiver 1320, information indicating that the first communication device updates the tracking area and / or the notification area.

[0294] When the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the function of the third communication apparatus in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 4, in one possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is configured to receive the seventh information through the transceiver unit 1320.

[0295] When the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the function of the third communication apparatus in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 4, in one possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is configured to send information indicating that the first communication apparatus updates the tracking area and / or the notification area through the transceiver unit 1320 when the difference is greater than the first threshold.

[0296] When the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the function of the third communication apparatus in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 4, in one possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is configured to send information indicating the second time through the transceiver unit 1320.

[0297] For more detailed description of the processing unit 1310 and the transceiver unit 1320, please refer to the relevant description in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 4.

[0298] As shown in FIG. 10, the communication apparatus 1400 includes a processor 1410 and an interface circuit 1420. The processor 1410 and the interface circuit 1420 are coupled to each other. It can be understood that the interface circuit 1420 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. The input / output interface is used to input and / or output information, and the output can be understood as sending, and the input can be understood as receiving. Optionally, the communication apparatus 1400 can further include a memory 1430, which is used to store instructions executed by the processor 1410 or to store input data required by the processor 1410 to run instructions or to store data generated after the processor 1410 runs instructions.

[0299] When the communication apparatus 1400 is configured to implement the method shown in FIG. 4, the processor 1410 is configured to implement the function of the processing unit 1310, and the interface circuit 1420 is configured to implement the function of the transceiver unit 1320.

[0300] Please refer to FIG. 11. The communication apparatus shown in FIG. 11 can also be a possible architecture schematic diagram of a baseband. As shown in FIG. 11, the communication apparatus can include a processing system, which can include one or more processors. The processor can be configured to execute processes, such as process #1…process #N shown in FIG. 11.

[0301] The processing system can be implemented with a bus architecture, generally represented by the bus. The bus can include any number of interconnecting buses and bridges, depending on the specific application of the processing system and the overall design constraints. The bus communicatively couples various circuitry including one or more processors (generally represented by the processor), memory, and computer-readable media (generally represented by the computer-readable media, such as computer-readable media #1... computer-readable media #N shown in FIG. 11). The bus can also link various other circuitry, such as a timing source, peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuitry, which are well known in the art, and therefore, will not be further described. A bus interface provides an interface between the bus and a transceiver and between the bus and an interface.

[0302] The communication device can also include a transceiver (not shown in FIG. 11), which can also be replaced by interface circuitry or a communication interface, etc. The transceiver provides a communication interface or means for communicating with various other apparatuses over a wireless transmission medium. The transceiver can be coupled to an antenna array, and the transceiver and the antenna array can be used together to communicate with a corresponding network type. At least one interface (e.g., a network interface and / or a user interface) provides a communication interface or means for communicating over an internal bus or via an external transmission medium.

[0303] The processor is responsible for managing the bus and general processing, including the execution of software stored on the computer-readable media. The software, when executed by the processor, causes the processing system to perform the various functions described below for any particular apparatus. The functions of the processor, the memory, and the computer-readable media can include one or more of encoding, decoding, rate matching, de-rate matching, scrambling, de-scrambling, modulating, de-modulating, layer mapping, fast fourier transform (FFT), inverse fast fourier transform (IFFT), inverse discrete fourier transform (IDFT), precoding, resource element (RE) mapping, channel equalization, de-RE mapping, digital beam forming (BF), adding a cyclic prefix (CP), de-CP, etc.

[0304] The signaling involved in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by the processor, the memory, and the computer-readable media. For example, the above signaling sent by the second communication device to the first communication device is processed by the processor, the memory, and the computer-readable media in FIG. 11, and then sent to the terminal device.

[0305] When the communication apparatus shown in FIG. 11 is used to implement the method shown in FIG. 4, the processing system is configured to implement the functions of the processing unit 1310 described above, and the transceiver is configured to implement the functions of the transceiving unit 1320 described above.

[0306] When the communication apparatus (for example, the communication apparatus shown in FIG. 9, FIG. 10 or FIG. 11) is a chip applied to a terminal device, the terminal device chip implements the functions of the first communication apparatus in the method embodiments described above. The terminal device chip receives information from a base station, which can be understood as the information being received by other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the terminal device first, and then being transmitted to the terminal device chip by these modules. The terminal device chip transmits information to the base station, which can be understood as the information being transmitted to other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the terminal device first, and then being transmitted to the base station by these modules.

[0307] When the communication apparatus (for example, the communication apparatus shown in FIG. 9, FIG. 10 or FIG. 11) is a chip applied to a base station, the base station chip implements the functions of the second communication apparatus and / or the third communication apparatus in the method embodiments described above. The base station chip receives information from the first communication apparatus, which can be understood as the information being received by other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the base station first, and then being transmitted to the base station chip by these modules. The base station chip transmits information to the first communication apparatus, which can be understood as the information being transmitted to other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the base station first, and then being transmitted to the terminal device by these modules.

[0308] In this application, when entity A transmits information to entity B, it can be that A directly transmits to B, or A indirectly transmits to B through other entities. Similarly, when entity B receives information from entity A, it can be that entity B directly receives the information transmitted by entity A, or entity B indirectly receives the information transmitted by entity A through other entities. Here, entity A and B can be RAN nodes or terminal devices, or modules inside RAN nodes or terminal devices. The transmission and reception of information can be the information interaction between RAN nodes and terminal devices, for example, the information interaction between a base station and a terminal device; the transmission and reception of information can also be the information interaction between two RAN nodes, for example, the information interaction between a CU and a DU; the transmission and reception of information can also be the information interaction between different modules inside one device, for example, the information interaction between a terminal device chip and other modules in the terminal device, or the information interaction between a base station chip and other modules in the base station.

[0309] It is to be understood that the processor (e.g., the processor 1410 in FIG. 10 and / or the processor in the processing system in FIG. 11) in the embodiments of the present application can be a central processing unit (CPU), and can also be other general-purpose processors, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, a hardware component, or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor, or any conventional processor.

[0310] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in hardware, or in software instructions executable by a processor. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, which can be stored in a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, an erasable programmable read-only memory, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, a register, a hard disk, a mobile hard disk, a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), or any other form of storage medium well known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor, so that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. The storage medium can also be a component of the processor. The processor and the storage medium can be located in an ASIC. The ASIC can be located in the base station or the terminal device. The processor and the storage medium can also exist as a separate component in the base station or the terminal device.

[0311] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer programs or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions of the embodiments are performed. The computer can be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user equipment or other programmable apparatus. The computer programs or instructions can be stored in a computer readable storage medium or transferred from one computer readable storage medium to another computer readable storage medium, for example, the computer programs or instructions can be transferred from one website site, computer, server or data center to another website site, computer, server or data center through wired or wireless manner. The computer readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center and the like integrated with one or more available media. The available media can be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape; or an optical medium, such as a digital video disc; or a semiconductor medium, such as a solid state disk. The computer readable storage medium can be a volatile or non-volatile storage medium, or can include both volatile and non-volatile storage media.

[0312] In various embodiments of the present application, the terms and / or descriptions of different embodiments are consistent and can be referred to each other if there is no special description and logical conflict, and the technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship.

[0313] In the present application, "at least one" means one or more, and "multiple" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship between the associated objects, which means that there can be three kinds of relationships, for example, A and / or B, which can represent the following cases: A exists alone, A and B exist together, B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In the literal description of the present application, the character " / ", generally represents that the front and rear associated objects are in an "or" relationship; in the formula of the present application, the character " / ", represents that the front and rear associated objects are in a "division" relationship. "Including at least one of A, B or C" can mean: including A; including B; including C; including A and B; including A and C; including B and C; including A, B and C.

[0314] It can be understood that various numbers (such as the numerical numbers "first", "second", such as the alphabetical numbers "A1", "A2", and the like) involved in the embodiments of the present application are only distinguished for the convenience of description, and are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application. The size of the serial number of the above processes does not mean the order of execution, and the execution order of the processes should be determined according to its function and inherent logic.

Claims

A communication method characterized by comprising: The method comprises: sending first information, the first information being used for indicating a movement trajectory of a first communication device in a future first time period; receiving second information, the second information being used for indicating that the first communication device stops updating a tracking area and / or a notification area, the second information being determined based on the first information; stopping updating the tracking area and / or the notification area of the first communication device. The method of claim 1, wherein The first information is used for tracking the first communication device. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein The stopping updating the tracking area and / or the notification area of the first communication device comprises: stopping the updating of the tracking area and / or the notification area in response to the second information; or acquiring information used for indicating a third time point, the third time point being a time point at which the updating of the tracking area and / or the notification area is stopped, and stopping the updating of the tracking area and / or the notification area of the first communication device at the third time point. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The method further comprises: sending third information, the third information being used for indicating that the first communication device has a capability of acquiring a movement trajectory; or sending fourth information, the fourth information being used for indicating that the first communication device does not have the capability of acquiring a movement trajectory. The method of claim 4, wherein The sending of the third information comprises: sending the third information in a case where at least one of the following conditions is met: an error corresponding to the predicted movement trajectory is less than or equal to a second threshold value; or a length of the predicted movement trajectory is greater than or equal to a third threshold value. The method of claim 5, wherein The method further comprises: acquiring information used for indicating the second threshold value and / or information used for indicating the third threshold value. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The first information comprises at least one of the following: information used for indicating an ephemeris corresponding to the first communication device; information used for indicating a position of the first communication device at one or more time points in the first time period; information used for indicating a movement trajectory corresponding to the first communication device; or information used for indicating the first time period. In a case where the first information comprises information used for indicating positions of the first communication device at a plurality of time points in the first time period, adjacent two time points in the plurality of time points are less than or equal to a fourth threshold value, and / or distances between positions of the first communication device corresponding to adjacent two time points in the plurality of time points are less than or equal to a fifth threshold value. The method of claim 7, wherein The information used for indicating the position of the first communication device at one or more time points in the first time period comprises at least one of longitude information, latitude information or altitude information of a position where the first communication device is located. The method of claim 7 or 8, wherein The method further comprises: The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that sending fifth information, the fifth information being used for indicating a movement trajectory in a future second time period. Before the sending of the fifth information, the method further comprises: The method of claim 10, wherein receiving sixth information, the sixth information indicating that the first communication device sends a movement trajectory; The sending of the fifth information comprises: sending the fifth information in response to the sixth information. Before the sending of the fifth information, the method further comprises: The method of claim 10, wherein acquiring information used for indicating at least one time point, the at least one time point being a time point at which the first communication device sends a movement trajectory; The sending of the fifth information comprises: sending the fifth information at a time point in the at least one time point. The sending of the fifth information comprises: The method of claim 10, wherein ​ estimating a first position of the first communication device at a first time according to the motion trajectory, the first time belonging to the first time period; obtaining a second position of the first communication device at the first time; in a case where a difference between the second position and the first position is greater than a first threshold, sending the fifth information. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that after the stopping of updating the tracking area and / or notification area of the first communication device, further comprising: determining to start updating the tracking area and / or notification area; receiving information indicating a tracking area and / or notification area in which the first communication device is located; updating the tracking area and / or notification area of the first communication device according to the information indicating the tracking area and / or notification area in which the first communication device is located. The method of claim 14, wherein the determining to start updating the tracking area and / or notification area, comprising: receiving information indicating that the first communication device updates the tracking area and / or notification area; determining to start updating the tracking area and / or notification area based on the information indicating that the first communication device updates the tracking area and / or notification area. The method of claim 15, wherein before the receiving information indicating that the first communication device updates the tracking area and / or notification area, the method further comprising: sending information associated with a difference between a position of the first communication device estimated based on the motion trajectory and an actual position of the first communication device. The method of claim 16, wherein the sending information associated with the difference between the position of the first communication device estimated based on the motion trajectory and the actual position of the first communication device, comprising: estimating a first position of the first communication device at a first time according to the motion trajectory, the first time belonging to the first time period; obtaining a second position of the first communication device at the first time; determining a difference between the second position and the first position; sending seventh information, the seventh information being used to indicate the difference and / or a relationship between the difference and a first threshold. The method of claim 17, wherein the sending the seventh information, comprising: in a case where the difference is greater than or equal to the first threshold, sending the seventh information. The method of claim 14, wherein the determining to start updating the tracking area and / or notification area, comprising: obtaining information indicating a second time; determining to start updating the tracking area and / or notification area at the second time. The method of claim 14, wherein the determining to start updating the tracking area and / or notification area, comprising: estimating a first position of the first communication device at a first time according to the motion trajectory, the first time belonging to the first time period; obtaining a second position of the first communication device at the first time; in a case where a difference between the second position and the first position is greater than or equal to the first threshold, determining to start updating the tracking area and / or notification area. The method of claim 14, wherein the determining to start updating the tracking area and / or notification area, comprising: in a case where an accuracy of the positioning function of the first communication device is less than or equal to a sixth threshold, determining to start updating the tracking area and / or notification area. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 21, characterized in that the method further comprising: sending information indicating that the first communication device updates the tracking area and / or notification area. A communication method characterized by comprising: comprising: receiving first information, the first information being used to indicate a motion trajectory of a first communication device in a future first time period; The second information is transmitted according to the first information, and the second information is used to instruct the first communication device to stop updating a tracking area and / or an informed area. The method of claim 23, wherein The first information is used to track the first communication device. The method of any one of claims 23-24, wherein The method further comprises: receiving third information, the third information being used to indicate that the first communication device has the capability of obtaining a motion trajectory; or receiving fourth information, the fourth information being used to indicate that the first communication device does not have the capability of obtaining a motion trajectory. The method of any one of claims 23-25, wherein The first information comprises at least one of: information used to indicate ephemeris corresponding to the first communication device; information used to indicate a position of the first communication device at one or more time points in the first time period; information used to indicate a motion trajectory corresponding to the first communication device; or information used to indicate the first time period. In a case where the first information comprises information used to indicate a position of the first communication device at multiple time points in the first time period, adjacent two time points in the multiple time points are less than or equal to a fourth threshold value, and / or a distance between positions of the first communication device corresponding to adjacent two time points in the multiple time points is less than or equal to a fifth threshold value. The method of claim 26, wherein The information used to indicate a position of the first communication device at one or more time points in the first time period comprises at least one of longitude information, latitude information, or altitude information of a position where the first communication device is located. The method of claim 26 or 27, wherein The method further comprises: The method of any one of claims 23-28, wherein receiving fifth information, the fifth information being used to indicate a motion trajectory in a future second time period. Before the receiving of the fifth information, the method further comprises: The method of claim 29, wherein transmitting sixth information, the sixth information indicating that the first communication device transmits a motion trajectory. Before the receiving of the fifth information, the method further comprises: The method of claim 29, wherein transmitting information used to indicate at least one time point, the at least one time point being a time point at which the first communication device transmits a motion trajectory, and the fifth information being transmitted at a time point in the at least one time point. The method further comprises: The method of any one of claims 23-31, wherein receiving information used to instruct the first communication device to update a tracking area and / or an informed area. Before the receiving of the information used to instruct the first communication device to update a tracking area and / or an informed area, the method further comprises: The method of claim 32, wherein receiving information associated with a difference between a position of the first communication device estimated based on a motion trajectory and an actual position of the first communication device. The transmitting of the information associated with the difference between the position of the first communication device estimated based on the motion trajectory and the actual position of the first communication device comprises: The method of claim 33, wherein receiving seventh information, the seventh information being used to indicate the difference and / or a relationship between the difference and a first threshold value, the difference being a difference between a second position and a first position, the first position being a position of the first communication device at a first time point estimated according to a motion trajectory, the first time point belonging to a first time period, and the second position being a position of the first communication device at the first time point. The method further comprises: The method of any one of claims 23-34, wherein receiving information used to instruct the first communication device to update a tracking area and / or an informed area. ​ A communication device characterized by comprising: comprising means for performing the method of any one of claims 1 to 22, or comprising means for performing the method of any one of claims 23 to 35. A communication device characterized by comprising: comprising a processor and interface circuitry for receiving signals from and transmitting signals to other communication devices, the processor being operable with the logic circuitry or the code instructions to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 22, or the method of any one of claims 23 to 35. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized by The storage medium has stored therein a computer program or instructions which, when executed by a communication device, implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 22, or the method of any one of claims 23 to 35. A computer program product, characterized by The computer program product stores a computer program comprising program instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the method of any one of claims 1 to 22, or the method of any one of claims 23 to 35.

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