Session processing method, terminal, and network-side device

Abstract

The present application belongs to the technical field of communications. Disclosed are a session processing method, a terminal, and a network-side device. The session processing method of the present application comprises: a first communication function receiving first information from a terminal device and / or second information from a third communication function; and the first communication function executing a first operation, a second operation, and / or a third operation, wherein the first operation comprises: on the basis of at least one of the second information and the first information, sending fourth information to the terminal device; the second operation comprises at least one of the following: determining not to establish or reserve or apply for or activate a resource of a first session, deactivating or stopping reserving or stopping applying for or stopping establishing a user plane resource of the first session, stopping sending information related to the first session to an access network node, deactivating a user plane resource of a second session, releasing the second session, and sending fourth communication function information to the terminal device; and the third operation comprises associating the first session with the second session.

Description

Session processing methods, terminals and network-side devices

[0001] Cross-references to related applications

[0002] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202411039828.8, filed on July 31, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] This application belongs to the field of communication technology, specifically relating to a session processing method, a terminal, and a network-side device. Background Technology

[0004] Dualsteer, or multiple access technology, allows a terminal to simultaneously access two networks or two radio access technologies (RATs). A Dualsteer device is a device that supports flow control and user data handover (for different services) across two 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access networks; if data is not transmitted simultaneously between the two networks, it can be a single terminal; if data is transmitted simultaneously between the two networks, it can be two separate terminals. Furthermore, a Dualsteer device has two Subscription Permanent Identifiers (SUPIs), sharing a subscription profile from the same operator.

[0005] In related technologies, when a Dualsteer device establishes a target PDU session for use in a switch, the Session Management Function (SMF) can determine whether the PDU session supports or does not support switch operations using the Data Network Name (DNN) or Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (S-NSSAI). However, this requires operators to allocate a separate DNN or S-NSSAI for the Dualsteer feature. A separate DNN or S-NSSAI also means that the network needs to reserve more transmission resources for the Dualsteer feature, which is not conducive to deployment on existing networks.

[0006] In related technologies, after establishing a target PDU session, the SMF needs to release the user plane (UP) resources of the source PDU session. However, in these technologies, the Dualsteer device can instruct that the target PDU session is pre-established for subsequent handover; that is, the Dualsteer device may not initiate a handover immediately after establishing the target PDU session. Therefore, how the SMF handles the UP resources of both the source and target PDU sessions when a target PDU session is pre-established is a problem that urgently needs to be solved.

[0007] On the other hand, after the Dualsteer device switches to the target PDU session, there is still a possibility of switching back to the source PDU session. If the source PDU session has already been released, then transmission resources need to be re-established. Therefore, the related technology has the problem of wasting signaling. Summary of the Invention

[0008] This application provides a session processing method, a terminal, and a network-side device that can solve the problem of signaling waste.

[0009] Firstly, a session processing method is provided, including:

[0010] The first communication function receives at least one of a first message from the terminal device and a second message from the third communication function;

[0011] The first communication function performs at least one of the first operation, the second operation, and the third operation;

[0012] The first operation includes: sending fourth information to the terminal device based on at least one of the second information and the first information, wherein the fourth information is related to the first session;

[0013] The second operation includes at least one of the following: determining not to establish, reserve, apply for, or activate the resources for the first session; deactivating or stopping the reservation, application, or establishment of user plane resources for the first session; stopping the transmission of information related to the first session to the access network node; deactivating the user plane resources for the second session; releasing the second session; and sending fourth communication function information to the terminal device, wherein the fourth communication function information is used by the terminal device to send protocol messages through the fourth communication function indicated by the user to the fourth communication function.

[0014] The third operation includes associating the first session and the second session;

[0015] The first information is related to the first session;

[0016] The second information is related to at least one of the first session and the first user identifier;

[0017] The fourth information includes at least one of the following: first indication information, used to indicate any one of allowing switching, disallowing switching, allowing conversion, disallowing conversion, allowing transfer, and disallowing transfer; second indication information, used to indicate any one of allowing simultaneous operation, disallowing simultaneous operation, allowing parallel operation, and disallowing parallel operation; third indication information, used to indicate any one of rejecting the first session, the first session failing to establish, and releasing the first session; and information related to the second session.

[0018] The first session is established through the first network;

[0019] The second session is established through a second network.

[0020] Secondly, a session processing method is provided, including:

[0021] The terminal device performs at least one of the following:

[0022] Send the first message to the first communication function;

[0023] Receive the fourth information sent by the first communication, and establish a third session based on the fourth information;

[0024] Send a third message to the second communication function;

[0025] The first information is related to the first session;

[0026] The third information is used to indicate the establishment of the first session, and also includes the first information;

[0027] The fourth information is related to the first session and includes at least one of the following: first indication information, used to indicate any one of allowing switching, disallowing switching, allowing conversion, disallowing conversion, allowing transfer, and disallowing transfer; second indication information, used to indicate any one of allowing simultaneous switching, disallowing simultaneous switching, allowing parallel switching, and disallowing parallel switching; third indication information, used to indicate any one of rejecting the first session, the first session failing to establish, and releasing the first session; and information related to the second session.

[0028] The first information includes at least one of the following: information of the second session; fourth indication information, used to indicate any one of handover, transfer, conversion, pre-establishment, no transfer, no handover, and no conversion; fifth indication information, used to indicate any one of not simultaneous, not parallel, single transmission, single transmission, single reception, simultaneous, concurrent, concurrent reception, and parallel; and ninth indication information, used to indicate dual access or multiple access.

[0029] The first session is established through the first network;

[0030] The second session is established through a second network;

[0031] The third session is established through the second network.

[0032] Thirdly, a session processing method is provided, including:

[0033] The second communication function receives third information from the terminal device;

[0034] The second communication function performs at least one of the following based on at least one of the third and fifth information:

[0035] Send the third information to the first communication function; select the first communication function; invoke the session service operation of the first communication function; send the information of the first session and the third information to the first communication function;

[0036] The third information includes the information of the first session and the first information;

[0037] The first information includes at least one of the following: information of the second session; fourth indication information, used to indicate any one of handover, transfer, conversion, pre-establishment, no transfer, no handover, and no conversion; fifth indication information, used to indicate any one of not simultaneous, not parallel, single transmission, single transmission, single reception, simultaneous, concurrent, concurrent reception, and parallel; and ninth indication information, used to indicate dual access or multiple access.

[0038] The fifth piece of information is related to the second user identifier and includes: information about the second session and information related to the first communication function.

[0039] Fourthly, a session processing method is provided, including:

[0040] The third communication function sends the second information to the first communication function;

[0041] The second information is used to instruct the execution of at least one of the first operation, the second operation, and the third operation;

[0042] The first operation includes: sending fourth information based on at least one of the second information and the first information, wherein the fourth information is related to the first session;

[0043] The second operation includes at least one of the following: determining not to establish, reserve, apply for, or activate the resources for the first session; deactivating or stopping the reservation, application, or establishment of user plane resources for the first session; stopping the transmission of information related to the first session to the access network node; deactivating the user plane resources for the second session; releasing the second session; and sending fourth communication function information to the terminal device, wherein the fourth communication function information is used by the terminal device to send protocol messages through the fourth communication function indicated by the user to the fourth communication function.

[0044] The third operation includes associating the first session and the second session;

[0045] The first information is related to the first session;

[0046] Wherein, the second information is related to at least one of the first session and the first user identifier, including at least one of the following:

[0047] Information from the first session;

[0048] First user identifier;

[0049] Information from the second session;

[0050] The sixth instruction information is used to indicate any one of the following: handover allowed, transfer allowed, conversion allowed, transfer not allowed, handover not allowed, and conversion not allowed.

[0051] The seventh instruction information is used to indicate any one of the following: in the same terminal device, not in the same terminal device, enabled, disabled, activated, and deactivated;

[0052] The eighth instruction information is used to indicate any one of the following: simultaneous transmission is allowed, simultaneous transmission is not allowed, parallel transmission is allowed, parallel transmission is not allowed, single transmission, single transmission, and single reception.

[0053] The first session is established through the first network;

[0054] The second session is established through a second network.

[0055] Fifthly, a session processing apparatus is provided for a first communication function, comprising:

[0056] A receiving module is configured to receive at least one of first information from a terminal device and second information from a third communication function;

[0057] A processing module for performing at least one of the first operation, the second operation, and the third operation;

[0058] The first operation includes: sending fourth information to the terminal device based on at least one of the second information and the first information, wherein the fourth information is related to the first session;

[0059] The second operation includes at least one of the following: determining not to establish, reserve, apply for, or activate the resources for the first session; deactivating or stopping the reservation, application, or establishment of user plane resources for the first session; stopping the transmission of information related to the first session to the access network node; deactivating the user plane resources for the second session; releasing the second session; and sending fourth communication function information to the terminal device, wherein the fourth communication function information is used by the terminal device to send protocol messages through the fourth communication function indicated by the user to the fourth communication function.

[0060] The third operation includes associating the first session and the second session;

[0061] The first information is related to the first session;

[0062] The second information is related to at least one of the first session and the first user identifier;

[0063] The fourth information includes at least one of the following: first indication information, used to indicate any one of allowing switching, disallowing switching, allowing conversion, disallowing conversion, allowing transfer, and disallowing transfer; second indication information, used to indicate any one of allowing simultaneous operation, disallowing simultaneous operation, allowing parallel operation, and disallowing parallel operation; third indication information, used to indicate any one of rejecting the first session, the first session failing to establish, and releasing the first session; and information related to the second session.

[0064] The first session is established through the first network;

[0065] The second session is established through a second network.

[0066] Sixthly, a session processing apparatus is provided, applied to a terminal device, comprising:

[0067] The first execution module is used to perform at least one of the following:

[0068] Send the first message to the first communication function;

[0069] Receive the fourth information sent by the first communication, and establish a third session based on the fourth information;

[0070] Send a third message to the second communication function (AMF);

[0071] The first information is related to the first session;

[0072] The third information is used to indicate the establishment of the first session, and also includes the first information;

[0073] The fourth information is related to the first session and includes at least one of the following: first indication information, used to indicate any one of allowing switching, disallowing switching, allowing conversion, disallowing conversion, allowing transfer, and disallowing transfer; second indication information, used to indicate any one of allowing simultaneous switching, disallowing simultaneous switching, allowing parallel switching, and disallowing parallel switching; third indication information, used to indicate any one of rejecting the first session, the first session failing to establish, and releasing the first session; and information related to the second session.

[0074] The first information includes at least one of the following: information of the second session; fourth indication information, used to indicate any one of handover, transfer, conversion, pre-establishment, no transfer, no handover, and no conversion; fifth indication information, used to indicate any one of not simultaneous, not parallel, single transmission, single transmission, single reception, simultaneous, concurrent, concurrent reception, and parallel; and ninth indication information, used to indicate dual access or multiple access.

[0075] The first session is established through the first network;

[0076] The second session is established through a second network;

[0077] The third session is established through the second network.

[0078] In a seventh aspect, a session processing apparatus is provided for a second communication function, comprising:

[0079] The information receiving module is used to receive third-party information from the terminal device;

[0080] The second execution module is configured to perform at least one of the following based on at least one of the third and fifth information:

[0081] Send the third information to the first communication function; select the first communication function; invoke the session service operation of the first communication function; send the information of the first session and the third information to the first communication function;

[0082] The third information includes the information of the first session and the first information;

[0083] The first information includes at least one of the following: information of the second session; fourth indication information, used to indicate any one of handover, transfer, conversion, pre-establishment, no transfer, no handover, and no conversion; fifth indication information, used to indicate any one of not simultaneous, not parallel, single transmission, single transmission, single reception, simultaneous, concurrent, concurrent reception, and parallel; and ninth indication information, used to indicate dual access or multiple access.

[0084] The fifth piece of information is related to the second user identifier and includes: information about the second session and information related to the first communication function.

[0085] Eighthly, a session processing apparatus is provided for use in a third communication function, comprising:

[0086] The sending module is used to send the second information to the first communication function;

[0087] The second information is used to instruct the execution of at least one of the first operation, the second operation, and the third operation;

[0088] The first operation includes: sending fourth information based on at least one of the second information and the first information, wherein the fourth information is related to the first session;

[0089] The second operation includes at least one of the following: determining not to establish, reserve, apply for, or activate the resources for the first session; deactivating or stopping the reservation, application, or establishment of user plane resources for the first session; stopping the transmission of information related to the first session to the access network node; deactivating the user plane resources for the second session; releasing the second session; and sending fourth communication function information to the terminal device, wherein the fourth communication function information is used by the terminal device to send protocol messages through the fourth communication function indicated by the user to the fourth communication function.

[0090] The third operation includes associating the first session and the second session;

[0091] The first information is related to the first session;

[0092] Wherein, the second information is related to at least one of the first session and the first user identifier, including at least one of the following:

[0093] Information from the first session;

[0094] First user identifier;

[0095] Information from the second session;

[0096] The sixth instruction information is used to indicate any one of the following: handover allowed, transfer allowed, conversion allowed, transfer not allowed, handover not allowed, and conversion not allowed.

[0097] The seventh instruction information is used to indicate any one of the following: in the same terminal device, not in the same terminal device, enabled, disabled, activated, and deactivated;

[0098] The eighth instruction information is used to indicate any one of the following: simultaneous transmission is allowed, simultaneous transmission is not allowed, parallel transmission is allowed, parallel transmission is not allowed, single transmission, single transmission, and single reception.

[0099] The first session is established through the first network;

[0100] The second session is established through a second network.

[0101] In a ninth aspect, a terminal device is provided, the terminal device including a processor and a memory, the memory storing a program or instructions executable on the processor, the program or instructions, when executed by the processor, implementing the steps of the method as described in the second aspect.

[0102] In a tenth aspect, a terminal device is provided, including a processor and a communication interface, wherein the processor is configured to perform the steps of the method described in the second aspect.

[0103] Eleventhly, a network-side device is provided, the network-side device including a processor and a memory, the memory storing a program or instructions executable on the processor, the program or instructions, when executed by the processor, implementing the steps of the method as described in the first, third, or fourth aspects.

[0104] In a twelfth aspect, a network-side device is provided, including a processor and a communication interface, wherein the processor is configured to perform the steps of the method described in the first, third, or fourth aspect.

[0105] In a thirteenth aspect, a readable storage medium is provided, on which a program or instructions are stored, which, when executed by a processor, implement the steps of the method described in the first aspect, or the steps of the method described in the second aspect, or the steps of the method described in the third aspect, or the steps of the method described in the fourth aspect.

[0106] In a fourteenth aspect, a wireless communication system is provided, comprising: a terminal device and a network-side device, wherein the terminal device is configured to perform the steps of the method described in the third aspect, and the network-side device is configured to perform the steps of the method described in the first, third, or fourth aspect.

[0107] In a fifteenth aspect, a chip is provided, the chip including a processor and a communication interface coupled to the processor, the processor being configured to run a program or instructions to implement the steps of the method as described in the first aspect, or the steps of the method as described in the second aspect, or the steps of the method as described in the third aspect, or the steps of the method as described in the fourth aspect.

[0108] In a sixteenth aspect, a computer program / program product is provided, the computer program / program product being stored in a storage medium, the computer program / program product being executed by at least one processor to implement the steps of the method as described in the first aspect, or the steps of the method as described in the second aspect, or the steps of the method as described in the third aspect, or the steps of the method as described in the fourth aspect.

[0109] In this embodiment, the first communication function, such as the SMF, receives first information from the terminal device and / or second information from the third communication function, and performs a first operation, a second operation, and / or a third operation. This allows the terminal device to decide whether to initiate the establishment of a first session based on the fourth information from the first communication function. When the SMF does not support handover, this avoids the terminal device from executing subsequent handover requests, saving signaling overhead. Furthermore, the processing method of resources for the first and second sessions by the first communication function is clarified. This allows the terminal device to determine not to establish, reserve, or request resources for the target session when it will not immediately initiate a session handover, reducing signaling overhead. Attached Figure Description

[0110] Figure 1 is a block diagram of a wireless communication system applicable to an embodiment of this application;

[0111] Figures 2-5 are schematic flowcharts of the session processing method according to embodiments of this application;

[0112] Figures 6 and 7 are schematic diagrams illustrating the process of PDU session processing in a specific embodiment of this application;

[0113] Figures 8-11 are structural block diagrams of the session processing apparatus according to embodiments of this application;

[0114] Figure 12 is a structural block diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of this application;

[0115] Figure 13 is a structural block diagram of a terminal device according to an embodiment of this application;

[0116] Figure 14 is a structural block diagram of the network-side device according to an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0117] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be clearly described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some, not all, of the embodiments of this application. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of this application are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0118] The terms "first," "second," etc., used in this application are used to distinguish similar objects and not to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such terms can be used interchangeably where appropriate so that embodiments of this application can be implemented in orders other than those illustrated or described herein, and the objects distinguished by "first" and "second" are generally of the same class, not limited in number; for example, the first object can be one or more. Furthermore, "or" in this application indicates at least one of the connected objects. For example, the scope of protection for "A or B" covers at least three scenarios: Scenario 1: including A but not B; Scenario 2: including B but not A; Scenario 3: including both A and B. In addition, the terms "A and / or B," "at least one of A and B," and "at least one of A or B" also cover at least the above three scenarios. The character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0119] The term "instruction" in this application can be either a direct instruction (or explicit instruction) or an indirect instruction (or implicit instruction). A direct instruction can be understood as one in which the sender explicitly informs the receiver of specific information, the operation to be performed, or the requested result, etc., in the instruction sent. An indirect instruction can be understood as one in which the receiver determines the corresponding information based on the instruction sent by the sender, or makes a judgment and determines the operation to be performed or the requested result, etc., based on the judgment result.

[0120] It is worth noting that the technologies described in this application are not limited to Long Term Evolution (LTE) / LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) systems, but can also be used in other wireless communication systems, such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Single-carrier Frequency-Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA), or other systems. The terms "system" and "network" in this application are often used interchangeably, and the described technologies can be used with the systems and radio technologies mentioned above, as well as with other systems and radio technologies. The following description describes New Radio (NR) systems for illustrative purposes, and the term NR is used in most of the following description; however, these technologies can also be applied to systems other than NR systems, such as 6th generation (6G) radio systems. th Generation 6G communication system.

[0121] Figure 1 shows a block diagram of a wireless communication system applicable to an embodiment of this application. The wireless communication system includes a terminal 11 and a network-side device 12. The terminal 11 can be a mobile phone, tablet computer, laptop computer, notebook computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), handheld computer, netbook, ultra-mobile personal computer (UMPC), mobile internet device (MID), augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) device, robot, wearable device, flight vehicle, vehicle user equipment (VUE), shipboard equipment, pedestrian user equipment (PUE), smart home (home devices with wireless communication capabilities, such as refrigerators, televisions, washing machines, or furniture), game console, personal computer (PC), ATM, or self-service machine, etc. Wearable devices include: smartwatches, smart bracelets, smart headphones, smart glasses, smart jewelry (smart bracelets, smart chains, smart rings, smart necklaces, smart anklets, smart anklets, etc.), smart wristbands, smart clothing, etc. Among these, in-vehicle devices can also be referred to as in-vehicle terminals, in-vehicle controllers, in-vehicle modules, in-vehicle components, in-vehicle chips, or in-vehicle units, etc. It should be noted that the specific type of terminal 11 is not limited in this application embodiment. Network-side equipment 12 may include access network equipment or core network equipment, wherein access network equipment may also be referred to as Radio Access Network (RAN) equipment, radio access network function, or radio access network unit. Access network equipment may include base stations, Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) access points (AS), or Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) nodes, etc.The term "base station" can be referred to as Node B (NB), Evolved Node B (eNB), Next Generation Node B (gNB), New Radio Node B (NR Node B), Access Point, Relay Base Station (RBS), Serving Base Station (SBS), Base Transceiver Station (BTS), Radio Base Station, Radio Transceiver, Basic Service Set (BSS), Extended Service Set (ESS), Home Node B (HNB), Home Evolved Node B, Transmit / Receive Point (TRP), or any other suitable term in the relevant field, as long as the same technical effect is achieved. The term "base station" is not limited to any specific technical terminology. It should be noted that this application embodiment only uses a base station in an NR system as an example for description and does not limit the specific type of base station.

[0122] Core network equipment, also known as core network nodes, core network functions, or core network elements, includes, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: Mobility Management Entity (MME), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), User Plane Function (UPF), Policy Control Function (PCF), Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF), Edge Application Server Discovery Function (EASDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Unified Data Repository (UDR), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Centralized network configuration (CNC), Network Repository Function (NRF), Network Exposure Function (NEF), Local NEF (or L-NEF), and Binding Support. The core network functions include: BSF (Block Network Function), Application Function (AF), Location Management Function (LMF), Gateway Mobile Location Centre (GMLC), and Network Data Analytics Function (NWDAF). It should be noted that this application embodiment only uses core network equipment in the NR system as an example and does not limit the specific type of core network equipment. If the name of the core network equipment mentioned in this application embodiment changes in subsequent protocol versions (e.g., 6G), it will still be within the scope of protection of this application.

[0123] Optionally, the core network equipment can be implemented by one or more functional modules in a single device, or by multiple devices working together; this application does not specifically limit this. It is understood that the aforementioned functional modules can be network elements in hardware devices, software functional modules running on dedicated hardware, or virtualized functional modules instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform).

[0124] In this embodiment, it is assumed that the Dualsteer device has two connections: SUPI-1 accesses the network via PLMN-1 and RAT-1, corresponding to the first connection; SUPI-2 accesses the network via PLMN-2 and RAT-2, corresponding to the second connection. Optionally, at least one of the PLMN and RAT in the first connection and the second connection is different. In other words, combination 1: PLMN-1 and PLMN-2, combination 2: RAT1 and RAT2. Combinations 1 and 2 can have at most one common element. For example, combinations 1 are the same (i.e., PLMN-1 and PLMN-2 are the same), and combinations 2 are different (i.e., RAT1 and RAT2 are different). The Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session established by the Dualsteer device on the first connection is called the first PDU session (or source PDU session), and the PDU session established by the Dualsteer device on the second connection is called the second PDU session (or target PDU session).

[0125] In related technologies, when a Dualsteer device establishes a target PDU session for use in a switch, the Session Management Function (SMF) can determine whether the PDU session supports or does not support switch operations using the Data Network Name (DNN) or Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (S-NSSAI). However, this requires operators to allocate a separate DNN or S-NSSAI for the Dualsteer feature. A separate DNN or S-NSSAI also means that the network needs to reserve more transmission resources for the Dualsteer feature, which is not conducive to deployment on existing networks.

[0126] Without enhancing DNN / S-NSSAI, Dualsteer devices can be informed which DNN / S-NSSAI is allowed to perform a handover by enhancing the terminal policy. That is, the terminal policy (e.g., User Route Selection Policy (URSP)) might include a handover permission instruction. However, enhanced terminal policies are not a feature that all terminals must support, and using terminal policies is not conducive to dynamically and flexibly maintaining whether a switch is allowed.

[0127] Without enhancing DNN / S-NSSAI, the Dualsteer device can include information indicating switch support in the target PDU session establishment message. Correspondingly, the SMF includes information indicating switch support in the PDU session acceptance message. However, whether the target PDU session supports switch requires the SMF to also support the corresponding feature. In other words, if the SMF does not support the corresponding feature, the Dualsteer device does not need to execute subsequent switch requests to avoid wasting signaling.

[0128] In related technologies, after establishing a target PDU session, the SMF needs to release the user plane (UP) resources of the source PDU session. However, in these technologies, the Dualsteer device can instruct that the target PDU session is pre-established for subsequent handover; that is, the Dualsteer device may not initiate a handover immediately after establishing the target PDU session. Therefore, how the SMF handles the UP resources of both the source and target PDU sessions when a target PDU session is pre-established is a problem that urgently needs to be solved.

[0129] On the other hand, after the Dualsteer device switches to the target PDU session, there is still a possibility of switching back to the source PDU session. If the source PDU session has already been released, then transmission resources need to be re-established. Therefore, the related technology has the problem of wasting signaling.

[0130] The session processing method provided in this application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, through some embodiments and application scenarios.

[0131] This application provides a session processing method, as shown in Figure 2, including:

[0132] Step 101: The first communication function receives at least one of the first information from the terminal device and the second information from the third communication function;

[0133] The first communication device can be SMF, and the third communication function is UDM.

[0134] Step 102: The first communication function performs at least one of the first operation, the second operation, and the third operation;

[0135] The first operation includes: sending fourth information to the terminal device based on at least one of the second information and the first information, wherein the fourth information is related to the first session, and the first session can be a source session or a target session;

[0136] The second operation includes at least one of the following: determining that resources for the first session (a source session or a target session in a target session) will not be established, reserved, or requested; deactivating or stopping the reservation, request, or establishment of user plane resources for the first session; stopping the transmission of information related to the first session to the access network node; deactivating user plane resources for the second session; releasing the second session, which is the source session; and sending fourth communication function information to the terminal device, wherein the fourth communication function information is used by the terminal device to send protocol messages through the fourth communication function indicated by the user to the fourth communication function.

[0137] The third operation includes associating the first session and the second session;

[0138] The first information is related to the first session;

[0139] The second information is related to at least one of the first session and the first user identifier;

[0140] The fourth information includes at least one of the following: first indication information, used to indicate any one of allowing switching, disallowing switching, allowing conversion, disallowing conversion, allowing transfer, and disallowing transfer; second indication information, used to indicate any one of allowing simultaneous operation, disallowing simultaneous operation, allowing parallel operation, and disallowing parallel operation; third indication information, used to indicate any one of rejecting the first session, the first session failing to establish, and releasing the first session; and second session-related information, such as DNN, S-NSSAI, PDU Session ID, etc.

[0141] The first session is established through the first network;

[0142] The second session is established through a second network.

[0143] The network referred to is represented by at least one of the following: access type, radio access technology (RAT), and network identifier (PLMMN ID).

[0144] In this embodiment, the first communication function, such as the SMF, receives first information from the terminal device and / or second information from the third communication function, and performs a first operation, a second operation, and / or a third operation. This allows the terminal device to decide whether to initiate the establishment of a first session based on the fourth information from the first communication function. When the SMF does not support handover, this avoids the terminal device from executing subsequent handover requests, saving signaling overhead. Furthermore, the processing method of resources for the first and second sessions by the first communication function is clarified. This allows the terminal device to determine not to establish, reserve, or request resources for the target session when it will not immediately initiate a session handover, reducing signaling overhead.

[0145] In some embodiments, the first session is associated with a first user identifier, and / or the second session is associated with a second user identifier, and / or the first information is received through the first network.

[0146] In some embodiments, the first information includes at least one of the following:

[0147] The SMF can obtain information about the second session, such as DNN, S-NSSAI, PDU Session ID, SSC, Access Type, etc., based on an agreed-upon method.

[0148] The fourth indication information is used to indicate any one of the following: switching, transfer, conversion, pre-establishment, no transfer, no switching, and no conversion;

[0149] The fifth instruction information is used to indicate any one of the following: non-concurrent, non-simultaneous, single sending and receiving, non-transmission, single-receiving, concurrent, dual sending, dual receiving, and simultaneous.

[0150] The ninth indication information is used to indicate dual access or multiple access, namely DualSteer or DualStack. Dual / multiple access refers to a function or capability that indicates that the terminal device has the ability to access different networks and / or use different networks to transmit data using one or more different user identifiers. On the network side, this function indicates that the network supports, accepts, or is serving the terminal device to access different networks and / or use different networks to transmit data using one or more different user identifiers.

[0151] In some embodiments, the second information includes at least one of the following:

[0152] Information from the first session;

[0153] First user identifier;

[0154] Information from the second session;

[0155] The sixth instruction information is used to indicate any one of the following: hand off, transfer, switch, no transfer, no hand off, and no switch.

[0156] The seventh instruction information is used to indicate any one of the following: in the same terminal device, not in the same terminal device, enabled (i.e., start), disabled (i.e., stop), activated (i.e., activate), and deactivated (i.e., deactivate);

[0157] The eighth instruction information is used to indicate any one of the following: simultaneous transmission is allowed, simultaneous transmission is not allowed, parallel transmission is allowed, parallel transmission is not allowed, single transmission, single transmission, and single reception.

[0158] In this embodiment, the fourth indication information may be explicit indication information or implicit indication information, and / or, the fifth indication information may be explicit indication information or implicit indication information.

[0159] In some embodiments, the second operation is also based on at least one of the first information and the second information.

[0160] In some embodiments, performing the second operation includes at least one of the following:

[0161] In a first case, the first communication function performs the second operation; wherein the first case includes at least one of the following: the seventh indication information indicates any one of being in the same terminal device, enabled, and activated; the sixth indication information indicates any one of being allowed to switch, allowed to transfer, and allowed to switch; and the ninth indication information is obtained;

[0162] In the second case, the first communication function performs at least one of the following: deactivating the user plane resources of the second session; releasing the second session; wherein the second case includes at least one of the following: the fourth indication information indicates any one of switching, transfer, and conversion; the fifth indication information indicates at least one of not simultaneous, not parallel, single transmission, single transmission, and single reception; the eighth indication information indicates that any one of not simultaneous, not parallel, single transmission, single transmission, and single reception is not allowed.

[0163] In the third scenario, the first communication function performs at least one of the following: determines not to establish, reserve, or request resources for the first session; deactivates or stops reserving or requesting user plane resources for the first session; and stops sending information related to the first session to the access network node. The third scenario includes at least one of the following: the fourth indication information indicates any one of pre-establishment, no transfer, no handover, and no conversion; the fifth indication information indicates at least one of non-simultaneous, non-parallel, single transmission, single transmission, and single reception; and the eighth indication information indicates that any one of simultaneous, non-parallel, single transmission, single transmission, and single reception is not allowed.

[0164] In the fourth case, the first communication function sends the fourth communication function information to the terminal device; wherein the fourth case includes at least one of the following: the fourth indication information indicates any one of pre-establishment, no transfer, no switching, and no conversion; the fifth indication information indicates any one of simultaneous, concurrent, concurrent reception, and parallel; and the eighth indication information indicates that simultaneous or parallel operation is allowed.

[0165] In some embodiments, performing the second operation further includes:

[0166] The first communication function learns the second user identifier and the second session information from the second communication function;

[0167] The first communication function determines the second session based on the second user identifier and the second session information;

[0168] The second communication function can be AMF.

[0169] In some embodiments, performing the first operation includes at least one of the following:

[0170] In the fifth scenario, the first communication function sends at least one of the following to the terminal device: first indication information, used to indicate any one of allowing switching, allowing conversion, and allowing transfer; second indication information; second session-related information; wherein the fifth scenario includes at least one of the following: the seventh indication information indicates any one of being in the same terminal device, enabled, and activated; the sixth indication information indicates any one of allowing switching, allowing transfer, and allowing conversion;

[0171] In the sixth case, the first communication function sends at least one of the following to the terminal device: the first indication information, used to indicate that switching, conversion, and transfer are not allowed; the third indication information; wherein, the sixth case includes at least one of the following: the seventh indication information indicating that the device is not in the same terminal device, is disabled, or is deactivated; the sixth indication information indicating that switching, transfer, and conversion are not allowed.

[0172] In some embodiments, deactivating or stopping the reservation, request, or establishment of user plane resources for the first session includes at least one of the following:

[0173] Stop sending at least one of N2 and N4 messages;

[0174] Determine not to establish user plane resources for the first session;

[0175] After the first session is established, activate the user plane resources of the first session.

[0176] In some embodiments, the fourth information is sent to the terminal device via a session establishment response or a session update command, thus eliminating the need to send the fourth information via dedicated signaling and saving signaling overhead.

[0177] This application also provides a session processing method, as shown in Figure 3, including:

[0178] Step 201: The terminal device performs at least one of the following:

[0179] Send the first message to the first communication function;

[0180] Receive the fourth information sent by the first communication, and establish a third session based on the fourth information. The third session can be a target session.

[0181] Send third information to the second communication function, which can be an AMF or an SMF used to select service-related sessions;

[0182] The first information is related to the first session, which is either the source session or the target session.

[0183] The third information is used to indicate the establishment of the first session, and also includes the first information;

[0184] The fourth information is related to the first session (the source session or the source session in the target session) and includes at least one of the following: first indication information, used to indicate any one of allowing switching, disallowing switching, allowing conversion, disallowing conversion, allowing transfer, and disallowing transfer; second indication information, used to indicate any one of allowing simultaneous switching, disallowing simultaneous switching, allowing parallel switching, and disallowing parallel switching; third indication information, used to indicate any one of rejecting the first session, the first session failing to establish, and releasing the first session; and information related to the second session, such as DNN, S-NSSAI, etc.

[0185] The first information includes at least one of the following: information of the second session; fourth indication information, used to indicate any one of handover, transfer, conversion, pre-establishment, no transfer, no handover, and no conversion; fifth indication information, used to indicate any one of not simultaneous, not parallel, single transmission, single transmission, single reception, simultaneous, concurrent, concurrent reception, and parallel; and ninth indication information, used to indicate dual access or multiple access.

[0186] The first session (source session or target session) is established through the first network;

[0187] The second session (source session) is established through the second network;

[0188] The third session (target session) is established through the second network.

[0189] The first network and / or the second network are represented by at least one of access type, wireless access technology and network identifier.

[0190] In some embodiments, the first information and / or the third information are carried in a session establishment request message or a session update request message, thus eliminating the need to send the first information and / or the third information via dedicated signaling and saving signaling overhead.

[0191] This application also provides a session processing method, as shown in Figure 4, including:

[0192] Step 301: The second communication function receives third information from the terminal device. The second communication function can be AMF.

[0193] Step 302: The second communication function performs at least one of the following based on at least one of the third and fifth information:

[0194] Send the third information to the first communication function; select the first communication function; invoke the session service operation of the first communication function (e.g., invoke the Nsmf_PDUSession_CreateSMContext service or the Nsmf_PDUSession_Create service); send the information of the first session and the third information to the first communication function;

[0195] The third information includes the information of the first session and the first information;

[0196] The first information includes at least one of the following: information of the second session; fourth indication information, used to indicate any one of handover, transfer, conversion, pre-establishment, no transfer, no handover, and no conversion; fifth indication information, used to indicate any one of not simultaneous, not parallel, single transmission, single transmission, single reception, simultaneous, concurrent, concurrent reception, and parallel; and ninth indication information, used to indicate dual access or multiple access.

[0197] The fifth piece of information is related to the second user identifier and includes: information about the second session (PDU Session ID, DNN, S-NSSAI) and information related to the first communication function (NF ID and / or NF address).

[0198] In some embodiments, the third information is also related to the first user identifier.

[0199] In some embodiments, before the second communication function receives third information from the terminal device, the method further includes at least one of the following:

[0200] The second communication function obtains the second user identifier from the third communication function (UDM) based on the first user identifier. For example, during the registration process related to the first user identifier, the second user identifier is obtained from the UDM. The subscription information includes the second user identifier.

[0201] The second communication function invokes the subscription service of the third communication function based on the first user identifier. The subscription service is related to the fifth information. For example, during the registration process related to the first user identifier, the second user identifier is used to subscribe to the service related to the fifth information from the UDM.

[0202] In some embodiments, the method further includes:

[0203] The second communication function learns the fifth information from the third communication function, for example, by requesting the UDM to send the fifth information, or by receiving a notification containing the fifth information from the UDM.

[0204] In some embodiments, the method further includes:

[0205] The second communication function sends the second user identifier and the first user identifier to the first communication function.

[0206] This application also provides a session processing method, as shown in Figure 5, including:

[0207] Step 401: The third communication function sends the second information to the first communication function. The third communication function can be a UDM.

[0208] The second information is used to instruct the execution of at least one of the first operation, the second operation, and the third operation;

[0209] The first operation includes: sending fourth information based on at least one of the second information and the first information, wherein the fourth information is related to the first session;

[0210] The second operation includes at least one of the following: determining not to establish, reserve, apply for, or activate the resources for the first session; deactivating or stopping the reservation, application, or establishment of user plane resources for the first session; stopping the transmission of information related to the first session to the access network node; deactivating the user plane resources for the second session; releasing the second session; and sending fourth communication function information to the terminal device, wherein the fourth communication function information is used by the terminal device to send protocol messages through the fourth communication function indicated by the user to the fourth communication function.

[0211] The third operation includes associating the first session and the second session;

[0212] The first information is related to the first session;

[0213] Wherein, the second information is related to at least one of the first session and the first user identifier, including at least one of the following:

[0214] Information from the first session;

[0215] First user identifier;

[0216] Information from the second session;

[0217] The sixth instruction information is used to indicate any one of the following: handover allowed, transfer allowed, conversion allowed, transfer not allowed, handover not allowed, and conversion not allowed.

[0218] The seventh instruction information is used to indicate any one of the following: in the same terminal device, not in the same terminal device, enabled, disabled, activated, and deactivated;

[0219] The eighth instruction information is used to indicate any one of the following: simultaneous transmission is allowed, simultaneous transmission is not allowed, parallel transmission is allowed, parallel transmission is not allowed, single transmission, single transmission, and single reception.

[0220] The first session is established through the first network;

[0221] The second session is established through a second network.

[0222] The network referred to is represented by at least one of the following: access type, radio access technology (RAT), and network identifier (PLMMN ID).

[0223] In some embodiments, before the third communication function sends the second information to the first communication function, the method further includes at least one of the following:

[0224] The third communication function performs registration for the first user identifier, and the third communication function performs registration for the second user identifier;

[0225] The third communication function receives a seventh indication message sent by the first communication function, the seventh indication message including at least one of the following:

[0226] The tenth instruction information is used to indicate dual access or multiple access;

[0227] Information from the first session;

[0228] First user identifier.

[0229] In some embodiments, the method further includes at least one of the following:

[0230] The third communication function sets the sixth indication information based on whether the first user identifier and the second user identifier are in the same device;

[0231] The third communication function receives sixth information from the fourth communication function (SMF), and based on the sixth information, performs at least one of the following:

[0232] Send the second information to the first communication function;

[0233] The first communication function is determined or selected based on the relationship between the second user identifier and the first user identifier, wherein the first communication function is related to the first user identifier;

[0234] The eighth indication information is set based on the subscription information or configuration information of the second user identifier or the first user identifier;

[0235] The decision to send or not send the second information is based on the second user identifier or the subscription information or configuration information of the first user identifier;

[0236] The decision to send or not send the second information is based on whether the first user identifier and the second user identifier are in the same device;

[0237] Based on the tenth instruction information, determine whether to send or not send the second information;

[0238] Subscribe to session state information via the fourth communication function;

[0239] Subscribe to session state information for the fourth communication function based on the subscription information or configuration information of the second user identifier;

[0240] Based on the first user identifier and the second user identifier, or whether they are in the same device, subscribe to the session state information of the fourth communication function;

[0241] The sixth piece of information related to the second user identifier includes at least one of the following:

[0242] Registration instructions;

[0243] Session state information;

[0244] The eleventh instruction is used to indicate dual access or multiple access;

[0245] Information from the second session;

[0246] The session state information indicates the session information and the session state (active, inactive).

[0247] During the session creation process of the first SUPI, the first SMF can notify the UDM of the seventh indication information, which indicates that the SMF supports dual / multi-access, the session is related to dual / multi-access, and the SUPI is related to at least one of dual / multi-access. During the session creation process of the second SUPI, similar operations are performed.

[0248] When the UDM receives a fourth SMF registration instruction / call / request related to the second SUPI, it determines / selects the first SMF serving the first SUPI based on the relationship between the second SUPI and the first SUPI. Based on indications such as whether simultaneous or single transmission is allowed in the subscription or configuration information of the second or first SUPI, it sets the eighth indication information in the second information and sends the first SUPI and the eighth indication information to the first SMF of the first SUPI accordingly. The first SMF releases or deactivates one or more first sessions or all sessions (including the first session) related to the first SUPI based on the received information.

[0249] Alternatively, when the UDM receives a fourth SMF registration instruction / call / request related to the second SUPI, it subscribes to session state information from the fourth SMF. Upon receiving the session state information notified by the fourth SMF, and when the session state information indicates that an active session exists or the second session is active, the above operations are performed.

[0250] Furthermore, the UDM can decide whether to select / determine the first SMF and whether to send second information to the first SMF based on whether the first SMF indicates dual access / multiple access.

[0251] Furthermore, the UDM can decide whether to perform the above operations based on whether the fourth SMF indicates a second session and dual access / multiple access.

[0252] In some embodiments, the method includes at least one of the following:

[0253] The third communication function, based on the fact that the first user identifier and the second user identifier are in the same device, sets the sixth indication information to any one of indicating permission to switch, permission to transfer, and permission to switch;

[0254] The third communication function, based on the fact that the first user identifier and the second user identifier are not in the same device, sets the sixth indication information to indicate any one of switching not allowed, transfer not allowed, and conversion not allowed.

[0255] The session processing method of this application will be further described below, taking a PDU session as an example and combining specific embodiments.

[0256] Example 1:

[0257] In related technologies, the UE can send information indicating handover to the SMF during the establishment of the target PDU session. However, whether the target PDU session supports switching requires that the SMF also supports the corresponding feature. In other words, if the SMF does not support the corresponding feature, the Dualsteer device does not actually need to execute the subsequent switch request.

[0258] In this embodiment, when the source PDU session is established, the Unified Data Management (UDM) sends SM subscription data containing the Dualsteer subscription to the SMF based on whether SUPI-1 and SUPI-2 are in the same Dualsteer device. The SMF, based on the SM subscription data, sends fourth information to the Dualsteer device to indicate whether handover is allowed or not. The Dualsteer device then performs the handover based on the fourth information. This solves the problem of the Dualsteer device knowing whether the PDU session allows handover, allowing the Dualsteer device to decide whether to initiate the establishment of the target PDU session based on whether handover is allowed, thus saving signaling overhead.

[0259] As shown in Figure 6, this embodiment includes the following steps:

[0260] Step 1: The Dualsteer device (i.e., the UE) registers its SUPI-1 with the network, which is referred to as the first connection. The Dualsteer device also registers its SUPI-2 with the network, which is referred to as the second connection. Correspondingly, the first connection corresponds to the first network, and the second connection corresponds to the second network.

[0261] Step 2: When the source PDU session is established, the SUPI-1 of the Dualsteer device sends first information to the SMF-1. This first information indicates at least one of the following: a request for handover; support for handover; an initial PDU session; a first PDU session; a primary PDU session; or indication of whether simultaneous transmission is supported or not.

[0262] In some implementations, the UE can send the first information to the SMF-1 via a PDU session request message.

[0263] In some implementations, the first information is used to indicate a request for switching, which can be understood as the Dualsteer device having a need for switching, which may occur immediately or after a period of time.

[0264] Understandably, through the first piece of information, SMF can know whether the Dualsteer device has a need for handover and simultaneous transmission when the source PDU session is established, and then arrange subsequent user plane resource management.

[0265] In some implementations, the first information can be explicit indication information. For example, the first information uses 2 bits for indication, and the specific encoding method is as follows: when the first information is 01, it indicates the initial PDU session, the first PDU session, or the main PDU session; when the first information is 10, it indicates the second PDU session, the PDU session for switching, or the secondary PDU session.

[0266] In some implementations, the first information can be implicit indication information. For example, the SMF can determine whether the PDU session being established is an Initial PDU session / First PDU session / Primary PDU session or a Secondary PDU session / Second PDU session / PDU session for switch by whether the Dualsteer device carries a PDU session identifier. In this example, the first information is whether the Dualsteer device carries a PDU session identifier.

[0267] Step 3: SMF sends a message to UDM requesting SM contract data.

[0268] In some implementations, the SMF can send a message to the UDM requesting SM subscription data via the Nudm_SDM_Get service operation.

[0269] Step 4: The UDM receives a message from the SMF requesting SM subscription data. When the source PDU session is established, the UDM can send SM subscription data containing the Dualsteer subscription to the SMF, based on whether SUPI-1 and SUPI-2 are in the same Dualsteer device. The Dualsteer subscription applies to Dualsteer features.

[0270] In some implementations, if SUPI-1 and SUPI-2 are in the same Dualsteer device, the UDM sends SM subscription data containing the Dualsteer subscription to the SMF.

[0271] In some implementations, if SUPI-1 and SUPI-2 are not in the same Dualsteer device, the UDM sends SM subscription data to the SMF that does not include the Dualsteer subscription.

[0272] Step 5: Based on the SM subscription data, the SMF sends a fourth message to the Dualsteer device, which includes at least one of the following: information indicating whether handover is allowed or not; and information about the target PDU session.

[0273] In this embodiment, the SMF sends information to the Dualsteer device based on the SM subscription data to indicate whether the handover is allowed or not.

[0274] Optionally, the information of the target PDU session includes at least one of the following: DNN, S-NSSAI, Session and Service Continuity Mode (SSC mode), and access type.

[0275] Step 6: The Dualsteer device performs a switch based on the fourth information.

[0276] Optionally, the Dualsteer device performs a handover based on the fourth information, including at least one of the following:

[0277] If the information indicating whether switching is allowed or not indicates that switching is allowed, then the switching is performed;

[0278] If the information indicating whether switching is allowed or not indicates that switching is not allowed, it is determined that no switching will be performed;

[0279] If the fourth information includes information about the target PDU session, the target PDU session is used to establish a PDU session for handover.

[0280] Optionally, determining not to perform a switch includes: determining not to establish a target PDU session.

[0281] In this embodiment, the SMF sends an indication message in the first PDU session acceptance to indicate whether the switch is allowed or not. The Dualsteer device can decide whether to initiate a second PDU session based on this indication to save signaling overhead.

[0282] Example 2:

[0283] Although the Dualsteer device supports simultaneous transmission, there may be no need for simultaneous transmission at this time. That is, the target PDU session may indicate a non-immediate handover. In this case, the SMF may not establish UP resources for the target PDU session (e.g., not send N2 information).

[0284] On the other hand, after the Dualsteer device switches to the target PDU session, there is still a possibility of switching back to the source PDU session. If the PDU session has been released at this time, all UP resources will be released, which will cause a waste of signaling overhead.

[0285] In this embodiment, when the target PDU session is established, the Dualsteer device sends the handover type and handover mode to the SMF. Based on the handover type and handover mode, the SMF performs the first operation. This solves the problem of how the SMF handles the source PDU session and the target PDU session, thus saving the signaling overhead of the Dualsteer device.

[0286] As shown in Figure 7, this embodiment includes the following steps:

[0287] Step 1: Dualsteer device SUPI-1 registers in the network, referred to as the first connection. Dualsteer device SUPI-2 registers in the network, referred to as the second connection. Correspondingly, the first connection corresponds to the first network, and the second connection corresponds to the second network.

[0288] Steps 2 & 3: The Dualsteer device's SUPI-1 establishes a source PDU session in the network.

[0289] Step 4: The Dualsteer device's SUPI-2 sends a PDU session establishment request message to establish a target PDU session. This PDU session establishment request message includes at least one of the following: handover type and handover mode. The handover type indicates immediate or non-immediate handover. The handover mode indicates whether simultaneous transmission is supported or not.

[0290] Step 5: SMF-2 responds to the PDU session establishment request message from the Dualsteer device.

[0291] Optionally, the SMF-2 responds to the PDU session establishment request message of the Dualsteer device by: rejecting the PDU session establishment request if the switching mode indicates support for simultaneous transmission and the SMF-2 does not support simultaneous transmission.

[0292] SMF-1 and SMF-2 can be the same SMF. For example, when selecting SMF-2, the core network device can choose the same SMF as the serving SUPI-1 to establish a target PDU session. This embodiment does not impose any limitations.

[0293] Step 6: SMF-2 performs a second operation, wherein the second operation includes at least one of the following:

[0294] Determine which UP resources should not establish a target PDU session;

[0295] Deactivate the UP resource of the target PDU session;

[0296] Determine not to activate the UP resource of the target PDU session.

[0297] Deactivate the UP connection of the source PDU session;

[0298] Release the source PDU session;

[0299] Determine not to activate the UP resource of the source PDU session.

[0300] Optionally, the UP resource that does not establish a target PDU session includes: SMF-2 stopping sending at least one of N2 messages and N4 messages to determine the UP resource that does not establish a target PDU session.

[0301] Optionally, deactivating the UP resources of the target PDU session includes: SMF-2 deactivating the UP resources of the target PDU session after the target PDU session is established.

[0302] Optionally, the SMF-2 performs a second operation, including: the SMF-2 performs the second operation based on at least one of a handover type and a handover mode. Optionally, the SMF-2 performs the second operation based on at least one of a handover type and a handover mode, including:

[0303] If the switching type indicates an immediate switch, the SMF-2 performs at least one of deactivating the UP connection of the source PDU session and releasing the source PDU session;

[0304] When the handover type indicates a non-immediate handover, the SMF-2 performs at least one of the following: determining the UP resource for not establishing the target PDU session, deactivating the UP resource for the target PDU session, and determining the UP resource for not deactivating the source PDU session.

[0305] When the switching mode indication supports simultaneous transmission, the SMF-2 performs at least one of determining not to activate the UP resources of the target PDU session and determining not to activate the UP resources of the source PDU session;

[0306] When the switching mode indicates support for non-simultaneous transmission, the SMF-2 performs at least one of the following: deactivating the UP connection of the source PDU session, releasing the source PDU session, determining the UP resource for not establishing the target PDU session, and deactivating the UP resource of the target PDU session.

[0307] When the switching type indicates immediate switching and the switching mode indicates support for simultaneous transmission, the SMF-2 performs at least one of the following: determining not to deactivate the UP resource of the source PDU session, deactivating the UP connection of the source PDU session, and releasing the source PDU session.

[0308] When the handover type indicates non-immediate handover and the handover mode indicates support for simultaneous transmission, the SMF-2 performs at least one of the following: determining not to deactivate the UP resource of the source PDU session, determining not to establish the UP resource of the target PDU session, and deactivating the UP resource of the target PDU session.

[0309] When the switching type indicates immediate switching and the switching mode indicates that simultaneous transmission is not supported, the SMF-2 performs at least one of the following: deactivating the UP connection of the source PDU session and releasing the source PDU session.

[0310] When the handover type indicates a non-immediate handover and the handover mode indicates that simultaneous transmission is not supported, the SMF-2 performs at least one of the following: determining the UP resource for not establishing the target PDU session, deactivating the UP resource for the target PDU session, and determining the UP resource for not deactivating the source PDU session.

[0311] In this embodiment, after the Dualsteer device switches to the target PDU session, the SMF can perform at least one of the following: release the UP resources of the source PDU session, or release the source PDU session. The SMF can also determine not to activate the UP resources of the source PDU session, so that if the Dualsteer device switches back to the source PDU session, the Dualsteer device can quickly perform the switchover, reducing signaling overhead.

[0312] The session processing method provided in this application can be executed by a session processing device. This application uses a session processing device executing the session processing method as an example to illustrate the session processing device provided in this application.

[0313] This application provides a session processing apparatus for a first communication function, as shown in FIG8, including:

[0314] The receiving module 11 is configured to receive at least one of first information from the terminal device and second information from the third communication function;

[0315] Processing module 12 is used to perform at least one of the first operation, the second operation, and the third operation;

[0316] The first operation includes: sending fourth information to the terminal device based on at least one of the second information and the first information, wherein the fourth information is related to the first session;

[0317] The second operation includes at least one of the following: determining not to establish, reserve, apply for, or activate the resources for the first session; deactivating or stopping the reservation, application, or establishment of user plane resources for the first session; stopping the transmission of information related to the first session to the access network node; deactivating the user plane resources for the second session; releasing the second session; and sending fourth communication function information to the terminal device, wherein the fourth communication function information is used by the terminal device to send protocol messages through the fourth communication function indicated by the user to the fourth communication function.

[0318] The third operation includes associating the first session and the second session;

[0319] The first information is related to the first session;

[0320] The second information is related to at least one of the first session and the first user identifier;

[0321] The fourth information includes at least one of the following: first indication information, used to indicate any one of allowing switching, disallowing switching, allowing conversion, disallowing conversion, allowing transfer, and disallowing transfer; second indication information, used to indicate any one of allowing simultaneous operation, disallowing simultaneous operation, allowing parallel operation, and disallowing parallel operation; third indication information, used to indicate any one of rejecting the first session, the first session failing to establish, and releasing the first session; and information related to the second session.

[0322] The first session is established through the first network;

[0323] The second session is established through a second network.

[0324] In this embodiment, the first communication function, such as the SMF, receives first information from the terminal device and / or second information from the third communication function, and performs a first operation, a second operation, and / or a third operation. This allows the terminal device to decide whether to initiate the establishment of a first session based on the fourth information from the first communication function. When the SMF does not support handover, this avoids the terminal device from executing subsequent handover requests, saving signaling overhead. Furthermore, the processing method of resources for the first and second sessions by the first communication function is clarified. This allows the terminal device to determine not to establish, reserve, or request resources for the target session when it will not immediately initiate a session handover, reducing signaling overhead.

[0325] In some embodiments, the first session is associated with a first user identifier, and / or the second session is associated with a second user identifier, and / or the first information is received through the first network.

[0326] In some embodiments, the first information includes at least one of the following:

[0327] Information from the second session, such as DNN, S-NSSAI, PDU Session ID, SSC, Access Type, etc.

[0328] The fourth indication information is used to indicate any one of the following: switching, transfer, conversion, pre-establishment, no transfer, no switching, and no conversion;

[0329] The fifth instruction information is used to indicate any one of the following: non-concurrent, non-simultaneous, single sending and receiving, non-transmission, single-receiving, concurrent, dual sending, dual receiving, and simultaneous.

[0330] The ninth indication information is used to indicate dual access or multiple access, namely DualSteer or DualStack. Dual / multiple access refers to a function or capability that indicates that the terminal device has the ability to access different networks and / or use different networks to transmit data using one or more different user identifiers. On the network side, this function indicates that the network supports, accepts, or is serving the terminal device to access different networks and / or use different networks to transmit data using one or more different user identifiers.

[0331] In some embodiments, the second information includes at least one of the following:

[0332] Information from the first session;

[0333] First user identifier;

[0334] Information from the second session;

[0335] The sixth instruction information is used to indicate any one of the following: hand off, transfer, switch, no transfer, no hand off, and no switch.

[0336] The seventh instruction information is used to indicate any one of the following: in the same terminal device, not in the same terminal device, enabled (i.e., start), disabled (i.e., stop), activated (i.e., activate), and deactivated (i.e., deactivate);

[0337] The eighth instruction information is used to indicate any one of the following: simultaneous transmission is allowed, simultaneous transmission is not allowed, parallel transmission is allowed, parallel transmission is not allowed, single transmission, single transmission, and single reception.

[0338] In this embodiment, the fourth indication information may be explicit indication information or implicit indication information, and / or, the fifth indication information may be explicit indication information or implicit indication information.

[0339] In some embodiments, the second operation is also based on at least one of the first information and the second information.

[0340] In some embodiments, performing the second operation includes at least one of the following:

[0341] In a first case, the first communication function performs the second operation; wherein the first case includes at least one of the following: the seventh indication information indicates any one of being in the same terminal device, enabled, and activated; the sixth indication information indicates any one of being allowed to switch, allowed to transfer, and allowed to switch; and the ninth indication information is obtained;

[0342] In the second case, the first communication function performs at least one of the following: deactivating the user plane resources of the second session; releasing the second session; wherein the second case includes at least one of the following: the fourth indication information indicates any one of switching, transfer, and conversion; the fifth indication information indicates at least one of not simultaneous, not parallel, single transmission, single transmission, and single reception; the eighth indication information indicates that any one of not simultaneous, not parallel, single transmission, single transmission, and single reception is not allowed.

[0343] In the third scenario, the first communication function performs at least one of the following: determines not to establish, reserve, or request resources for the first session; deactivates or stops reserving or requesting user plane resources for the first session; and stops sending information related to the first session to the access network node. The third scenario includes at least one of the following: the fourth indication information indicates any one of pre-establishment, no transfer, no handover, and no conversion; the fifth indication information indicates at least one of non-simultaneous, non-parallel, single transmission, single transmission, and single reception; and the eighth indication information indicates that any one of simultaneous, non-parallel, single transmission, single transmission, and single reception is not allowed.

[0344] In the fourth case, the first communication function sends the fourth communication function information to the terminal device; wherein the fourth case includes at least one of the following: the fourth indication information indicates any one of pre-establishment, no transfer, no switching, and no conversion; the fifth indication information indicates any one of simultaneous, concurrent, concurrent reception, and parallel; and the eighth indication information indicates that simultaneous or parallel operation is allowed.

[0345] In some embodiments, performing the second operation further includes:

[0346] The first communication function learns the second user identifier and the second session information from the second communication function;

[0347] The first communication function determines the second session based on the second user identifier and the second session information;

[0348] The second communication function can be AMF.

[0349] In some embodiments, performing the first operation includes at least one of the following:

[0350] In the fifth scenario, the first communication function sends at least one of the following to the terminal device: first indication information, used to indicate any one of allowing switching, allowing conversion, and allowing transfer; second indication information; second session-related information; wherein the fifth scenario includes at least one of the following: the seventh indication information indicates any one of being in the same terminal device, enabled, and activated; the sixth indication information indicates any one of allowing switching, allowing transfer, and allowing conversion;

[0351] In the sixth case, the first communication function sends at least one of the following to the terminal device: the first indication information, used to indicate that switching, conversion, and transfer are not allowed; the third indication information; wherein, the sixth case includes at least one of the following: the seventh indication information indicating that the device is not in the same terminal device, is disabled, or is deactivated; the sixth indication information indicating that switching, transfer, and conversion are not allowed.

[0352] In some embodiments, deactivating or stopping the reservation, request, or establishment of user plane resources for the first session includes at least one of the following:

[0353] Stop sending at least one of N2 and N4 messages;

[0354] Determine not to establish user plane resources for the first session;

[0355] After the first session is established, activate the user plane resources of the first session.

[0356] In some embodiments, the fourth information is sent to the terminal device via a session establishment response or a session update command, thus eliminating the need to send the fourth information via dedicated signaling and saving signaling overhead.

[0357] This application also provides a session processing apparatus, applied to a terminal device, as shown in FIG9, including:

[0358] First execution module 21 is configured to perform at least one of the following:

[0359] Send the first message to the first communication function;

[0360] Receive the fourth information sent by the first communication, and establish a third session based on the fourth information;

[0361] Send a third message to the second communication function (AMF);

[0362] The first information is related to the first session;

[0363] The third information is used to indicate the establishment of the first session, and also includes the first information;

[0364] The fourth information is related to the first session and includes at least one of the following: first indication information, used to indicate any one of allowing switching, disallowing switching, allowing conversion, disallowing conversion, allowing transfer, and disallowing transfer; second indication information, used to indicate any one of allowing simultaneous switching, disallowing simultaneous switching, allowing parallel switching, and disallowing parallel switching; third indication information, used to indicate any one of rejecting the first session, the first session failing to establish, and releasing the first session; and information related to the second session.

[0365] The first information includes at least one of the following: information of the second session; fourth indication information, used to indicate any one of handover, transfer, conversion, pre-establishment, no transfer, no handover, and no conversion; fifth indication information, used to indicate any one of not simultaneous, not parallel, single transmission, single transmission, single reception, simultaneous, concurrent, concurrent reception, and parallel; and ninth indication information, used to indicate dual access or multiple access.

[0366] The first session is established through the first network;

[0367] The second session is established through a second network;

[0368] The third session is established through the second network.

[0369] In some embodiments, the first information and / or the third information are carried via a session establishment request message or a session update request message.

[0370] This application embodiment also provides a session processing apparatus for a second communication function, as shown in FIG10, including:

[0371] Information receiving module 31 is used to receive third information from terminal device;

[0372] The second execution module 32 is configured to perform at least one of the following based on at least one of the third and fifth information:

[0373] Send the third information to the first communication function; select the first communication function; invoke the session service operation of the first communication function; send the information of the first session and the third information to the first communication function;

[0374] The third information includes the information of the first session and the first information;

[0375] The first information includes at least one of the following: information of the second session; fourth indication information, used to indicate any one of handover, transfer, conversion, pre-establishment, no transfer, no handover, and no conversion; fifth indication information, used to indicate any one of not simultaneous, not parallel, single transmission, single transmission, single reception, simultaneous, concurrent, concurrent reception, and parallel; and ninth indication information, used to indicate dual access or multiple access.

[0376] The fifth piece of information is related to the second user identifier and includes: information about the second session and information related to the first communication function.

[0377] In some embodiments, the third information is also related to the first user identifier.

[0378] In some embodiments, the apparatus further includes at least one of the following:

[0379] The acquisition module is used to obtain the second user identifier from the third communication function based on the first user identifier;

[0380] The calling module is used to call the subscription service of the third communication function based on the first user identifier, and the subscription service is related to the fifth information.

[0381] In some embodiments, the second communication function learns the fifth information from the third communication function, for example, by requesting the UDM to send the fifth information, or by receiving a notification containing the fifth information from the UDM.

[0382] In some embodiments, the second communication function sends the second user identifier and the first user identifier to the first communication function.

[0383] This application embodiment also provides a session processing apparatus for a third communication function, as shown in FIG11, including:

[0384] The sending module 41 is used to send second information to the first communication function;

[0385] The second information is used to instruct the execution of at least one of the first operation, the second operation, and the third operation;

[0386] The first operation includes: sending fourth information based on at least one of the second information and the first information, wherein the fourth information is related to the first session;

[0387] The second operation includes at least one of the following: determining not to establish, reserve, apply for, or activate the resources for the first session; deactivating or stopping the reservation, application, or establishment of user plane resources for the first session; stopping the transmission of information related to the first session to the access network node; deactivating the user plane resources for the second session; releasing the second session; and sending fourth communication function information to the terminal device, wherein the fourth communication function information is used by the terminal device to send protocol messages through the fourth communication function indicated by the user to the fourth communication function.

[0388] The third operation includes associating the first session and the second session;

[0389] The first information is related to the first session;

[0390] Wherein, the second information is related to at least one of the first session and the first user identifier, including at least one of the following:

[0391] Information from the first session;

[0392] First user identifier;

[0393] Information from the second session;

[0394] The sixth instruction information is used to indicate any one of the following: handover allowed, transfer allowed, conversion allowed, transfer not allowed, handover not allowed, and conversion not allowed.

[0395] The seventh instruction information is used to indicate any one of the following: in the same terminal device, not in the same terminal device, enabled, disabled, activated, and deactivated;

[0396] The eighth instruction information is used to indicate any one of the following: simultaneous transmission is allowed, simultaneous transmission is not allowed, parallel transmission is allowed, parallel transmission is not allowed, single transmission, single transmission, and single reception.

[0397] The first session is established through the first network;

[0398] The second session is established through a second network.

[0399] The network referred to is represented by at least one of the following: access type, radio access technology (RAT), and network identifier (PLMMN ID).

[0400] In some embodiments, at least one of the following is performed before the third communication function sends the second information to the first communication function:

[0401] The third communication function performs registration for the first user identifier, and the third communication function performs registration for the second user identifier;

[0402] The third communication function receives a seventh indication message sent by the first communication function, the seventh message including at least one of the following:

[0403] The tenth instruction information is used to indicate dual access or multiple access;

[0404] Information from the first session;

[0405] First user identifier.

[0406] In some embodiments, at least one of the following is performed:

[0407] The third communication function sets the sixth indication information based on whether the first user identifier and the second user identifier are in the same device;

[0408] The third communication function receives sixth information from the fourth communication function (SMF), and based on the sixth information, performs at least one of the following:

[0409] Send the second information to the first communication function;

[0410] The first communication function is determined or selected based on the relationship between the second user identifier and the first user identifier, wherein the first communication function is related to the first user identifier;

[0411] The eighth indication information is set based on the subscription information or configuration information of the second user identifier or the first user identifier;

[0412] The decision to send or not send the second information is based on the second user identifier or the subscription information or configuration information of the first user identifier;

[0413] The decision to send or not send the second information is based on whether the first user identifier and the second user identifier are in the same device;

[0414] Based on the tenth instruction information, determine whether to send or not send the second information;

[0415] Subscribe to session state information via the fourth communication function;

[0416] Subscribe to session state information for the fourth communication function based on the subscription information or configuration information of the second user identifier;

[0417] Based on the first user identifier and the second user identifier, or whether they are in the same device, subscribe to the session state information of the fourth communication function;

[0418] The sixth piece of information related to the second user identifier includes at least one of the following:

[0419] Registration instructions;

[0420] Session state information;

[0421] The eleventh instruction is used to indicate dual access or multiple access;

[0422] Information from the second session;

[0423] The session state information indicates the session information and the session state (active, inactive).

[0424] During the session creation process of the first SUPI, the first SMF can notify the UDM of the seventh information, indicating that the SMF supports dual / multi-access, the session is related to dual / multi-access, and the SUPI is related to at least one of dual / multi-access. During the session creation process of the second SUPI, similar operations are performed.

[0425] When the UDM receives a fourth SMF registration instruction / call / request related to the second SUPI, it determines / selects the first SMF serving the first SUPI based on the relationship between the second SUPI and the first SUPI. Based on indications such as whether simultaneous or single transmission is allowed in the subscription or configuration information of the second or first SUPI, it sets the eighth indication information in the second information and sends the first SUPI and the eighth indication information to the first SMF of the first SUPI accordingly. The first SMF releases or deactivates one or more first sessions or all sessions (including the first session) related to the first SUPI based on the received information.

[0426] Alternatively, when the UDM receives a fourth SMF registration instruction / call / request related to the second SUPI, it subscribes to session state information from the fourth SMF. Upon receiving the session state information notified by the fourth SMF, and when the session state information indicates that an active session exists or the second session is active, the above operations are performed.

[0427] Furthermore, the UDM can decide whether to select / determine the first SMF and whether to send second information to the first SMF based on whether the first SMF indicates dual access / multiple access.

[0428] Furthermore, the UDM can decide whether to perform the above operations based on whether the fourth SMF indicates a second session and dual access / multiple access.

[0429] In some embodiments, the device includes at least one of the following:

[0430] The third execution module is used to set the sixth indication information to any one of indicating that switching is allowed, transfer is allowed, and conversion is allowed, based on the fact that the first user identifier and the second user identifier are in the same device;

[0431] The fourth execution module is used to set the sixth indication information to any one of the following: not allowing switching, not allowing transfer, and not allowing conversion, based on the fact that the first user identifier and the second user identifier are not in the same device.

[0432] This application provides a session processing apparatus. As an example, the session processing apparatus may be a communication device or a component within a communication device, such as a chip. The communication device may be a terminal, a network-side device, or a server, etc. Exemplarily, the terminal may include, but is not limited to, the type of terminal 11 listed above, and the network-side device may include, but is not limited to, the type of network-side device 12 listed above. This application does not impose specific limitations.

[0433] The session processing device includes a receiving module, a transmitting module, and a processing module. These modules can be implemented in software or hardware. When implemented in hardware, the processing module can be implemented by a processor. For example, the processor can include general-purpose processors, special-purpose processors, such as a Central Processing Unit (CPU), microprocessor, Digital Signal Processor (DSP), Artificial Intelligence (AI) processor, Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), Network Processor (NP), Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, gate circuits, transistors, discrete hardware components, etc. The receiving and transmitting modules can be implemented by a communication interface, which can include one or more of the following: transceiver, pins, circuits, bus, radio frequency unit, etc.

[0434] The session processing apparatus provided in this application embodiment can implement the various processes implemented in the method embodiments of Figures 2 to 7 and achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be described again here.

[0435] As shown in Figure 12, this application embodiment also provides a communication device 50, including a processor 51 and a memory 52. ​​The memory 52 stores programs or instructions that can run on the processor 51. For example, when the communication device 50 is a terminal device, the program or instructions executed by the processor 51 implement the various steps of the above-described session processing method embodiment and achieve the same technical effect. When the communication device 50 is a network-side device, the program or instructions executed by the processor 51 implement the various steps of the above-described session processing method embodiment and achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, this will not be described again here.

[0436] This application also provides a terminal device, including a processor and a communication interface. The communication interface is coupled to the processor, and the processor is used to run programs or instructions to implement the steps in the session processing method embodiment shown in FIG3. This terminal embodiment corresponds to the above-described terminal-side method embodiment. All implementation processes and methods of the above-described method embodiments can be applied to this terminal embodiment and achieve the same technical effect. The terminal can be the session processing device shown in FIG9. Specifically, FIG13 is a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a terminal implementing an embodiment of this application.

[0437] The terminal 600 includes, but is not limited to, at least some of the following components: radio frequency unit 601, network module 602, audio output unit 603, input unit 604, sensor 605, display unit 606, user input unit 607, interface unit 608, memory 609, and processor 610.

[0438] Those skilled in the art will understand that terminal 600 may also include a power supply (such as a battery) for powering various components. The power supply can be logically connected to processor 610 through a power management system, thereby enabling functions such as charging, discharging, and power consumption management through the power management system. The terminal structure shown in Figure 13 does not constitute a limitation on the terminal. The terminal may include more or fewer components than shown, or combine certain components, or have different component arrangements, which will not be elaborated here.

[0439] It should be understood that, in this embodiment, the input unit 604 may include a graphics processor 6041 and a microphone 6042. The graphics processor 6041 processes image data of still images or videos obtained by an image capture device (such as a camera) in video capture mode or image capture mode. The display unit 606 may include a display panel 6061, which may be configured in the form of a liquid crystal display, an organic light-emitting diode, or the like. The user input unit 607 includes at least one of a touch panel 6071 and other input devices 6072. The touch panel 6071 is also called a touch screen. The touch panel 6071 may include two parts: a touch detection device and a touch controller. Other input devices 6072 may include, but are not limited to, a physical keyboard, function keys (such as volume control buttons, power buttons, etc.), a trackball, a mouse, and a joystick, which will not be described in detail here.

[0440] In this embodiment, after receiving downlink data from the network-side device, the radio frequency unit 601 can transmit it to the processor 610 for processing; in addition, the radio frequency unit 601 can send uplink data to the network-side device. Typically, the radio frequency unit 601 includes, but is not limited to, antennas, amplifiers, transceivers, couplers, low-noise amplifiers, duplexers, etc.

[0441] The memory 609 can be used to store software programs or instructions, as well as various data. The memory 609 may primarily include a first storage area for storing programs or instructions and a second storage area for storing data. The first storage area may store the operating system, application programs or instructions required for at least one function (such as sound playback, image playback, etc.). Furthermore, the memory 609 may include volatile memory or non-volatile memory. The non-volatile memory may be read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory can be random access memory (RAM), static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDRSDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct memory bus RAM (DRRAM). The memory 609 in this embodiment includes, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0442] Processor 610 may include one or more processing units; optionally, processor 610 integrates an application processor and a modem processor, wherein the application processor mainly handles operations involving the operating system, user interface, and applications, and the modem processor mainly handles wireless communication signals, such as a baseband processor. It is understood that the aforementioned modem processor may also not be integrated into processor 610.

[0443] It is understood that the implementation process of each implementation method mentioned in this embodiment can refer to the relevant description of the session processing method embodiment and achieve the same or corresponding technical effects. To avoid repetition, it will not be described again here.

[0444] Specifically, this application also provides a network-side device. As shown in FIG14, the network-side device 70 includes a processor 71, a network interface 72, and a memory 73. The network-side device may be the session processing device shown in FIG8, FIG10, and FIG11. The network interface 72 is, for example, a Common Public Radio Interface (CPRI).

[0445] Specifically, the network-side device 70 in this application embodiment further includes: instructions or programs stored in memory 73 and executable on processor 71. Processor 71 calls the instructions or programs in memory 73 to execute the methods executed by the modules shown in FIG8, FIG10 and FIG11 and achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, they will not be described in detail here.

[0446] This application also provides a readable storage medium storing a program or instructions. When the program or instructions are executed by a processor, they implement the various processes of the above-described session processing method embodiments and achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, they will not be described again here.

[0447] The processor mentioned above is the processor in the terminal described in the above embodiments. The readable storage medium includes computer-readable storage media, such as computer read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disk, or optical disk. In some examples, the readable storage medium may be a non-transient readable storage medium.

[0448] This application embodiment also provides a chip, which includes a processor and a communication interface. The communication interface is coupled to the processor. The processor is used to run programs or instructions to implement the various processes of the above-described session processing method embodiments and can achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be described again here.

[0449] It should be understood that the chip mentioned in the embodiments of this application may also be referred to as a system-on-a-chip, system chip, chip system, or system-on-a-chip, etc.

[0450] This application also provides a computer program / program product, which is stored in a storage medium and executed by at least one processor to implement the various processes of the above-described session processing method embodiments, and can achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be described again here.

[0451] This application also provides a wireless communication system, including: a terminal device and a network-side device, wherein the terminal device can be used to perform the steps of the session processing method described above, and the network-side device can be used to perform the steps of the session processing method described above.

[0452] It should be noted that, in this document, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes that element. Furthermore, it should be noted that the scope of the methods and apparatuses in the embodiments of this application is not limited to performing functions in the order shown or discussed, but may also include performing functions substantially simultaneously or in the reverse order, depending on the functions involved. For example, the described methods may be performed in a different order than described, and various steps may be added, omitted, or combined. Additionally, features described with reference to certain examples may be combined in other examples.

[0453] From the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the methods of the above embodiments can be implemented by means of computer software products plus necessary general-purpose hardware platforms, and of course, they can also be implemented by hardware. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium (such as ROM, RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk, etc.) and includes several instructions for causing a terminal or network-side device to execute the methods described in the various embodiments of this application.

[0454] The embodiments of this application have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, this application is not limited to the specific embodiments described above. The specific embodiments described above are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Those skilled in the art can make many other implementations under the guidance of this application without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims. All of these implementations are within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. A session processing method, comprising: The first communication function receives at least one of a first message from the terminal device and a second message from the third communication function; The first communication function performs at least one of the first operation, the second operation, and the third operation; The first operation includes: sending fourth information to the terminal device based on at least one of the second information and the first information, wherein the fourth information is related to the first session; The second operation includes at least one of the following: determining not to establish, reserve, apply for, or activate the resources for the first session; deactivating or stopping the reservation, application, or establishment of user plane resources for the first session; stopping the transmission of information related to the first session to the access network node; deactivating the user plane resources for the second session; releasing the second session; and sending fourth communication function information to the terminal device, wherein the fourth communication function information is used by the terminal device to send protocol messages through the fourth communication function indicated by the user to the fourth communication function. The third operation includes associating the first session and the second session; The first information is related to the first session; The second information is related to at least one of the first session and the first user identifier; The fourth information includes at least one of the following: first indication information, used to indicate any one of allowing switching, disallowing switching, allowing conversion, disallowing conversion, allowing transfer, and disallowing transfer; second indication information, used to indicate any one of allowing simultaneous operation, disallowing simultaneous operation, allowing parallel operation, and disallowing parallel operation; third indication information, used to indicate any one of rejecting the first session, the first session failing to establish, and releasing the first session; and information related to the second session. The first session is established through the first network; The second session is established through a second network.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The first session is associated with a first user identifier, and / or the second session is associated with a second user identifier, and / or the first information is received through the first network.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, The first information includes at least one of the following: Information from the second session; The fourth indication information is used to indicate any one of the following: switching, transfer, conversion, pre-establishment, no transfer, no switching, and no conversion; The fifth instruction information is used to indicate any one of the following: not simultaneous, not parallel, single transmission, single transmission, single reception, simultaneous, concurrent, concurrent reception, and parallel. The ninth instruction information is used to indicate dual access or multiple access.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein, The second information includes at least one of the following: Information from the first session; First user identifier; Information from the second session; The sixth instruction information is used to indicate any one of the following: handover allowed, transfer allowed, conversion allowed, transfer not allowed, handover not allowed, and conversion not allowed. The seventh instruction information is used to indicate any one of the following: in the same terminal device, not in the same terminal device, enabled, disabled, activated, and deactivated; The eighth instruction information is used to indicate any one of the following: simultaneous transmission is allowed, simultaneous transmission is not allowed, parallel transmission is allowed, parallel transmission is not allowed, single transmission, single transmission, and single reception.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, wherein, The second operation is also based on at least one of the first information and the second information.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein, Performing the second operation includes at least one of the following: In a first case, the first communication function performs the second operation; wherein the first case includes at least one of the following: the seventh indication information indicates any one of being in the same terminal device, enabled, and activated; the sixth indication information indicates any one of being allowed to switch, allowed to transfer, and allowed to switch; and the ninth indication information is obtained; In the second case, the first communication function performs at least one of the following: deactivating the user plane resources of the second session; releasing the second session; wherein the second case includes at least one of the following: the fourth indication information indicates any one of switching, transfer, and conversion; the fifth indication information indicates at least one of not simultaneous, not parallel, single transmission, single transmission, and single reception; the eighth indication information indicates that any one of not simultaneous, not parallel, single transmission, single transmission, and single reception is not allowed. In the third scenario, the first communication function performs at least one of the following: determines not to establish, reserve, or request resources for the first session; deactivates or stops reserving or requesting user plane resources for the first session; and stops sending information related to the first session to the access network node. The third scenario includes at least one of the following: the fourth indication information indicates any one of pre-establishment, no transfer, no handover, and no conversion; the fifth indication information indicates at least one of non-simultaneous, non-parallel, single transmission, single transmission, and single reception; and the eighth indication information indicates that any one of simultaneous, non-parallel, single transmission, single transmission, and single reception is not allowed. In the fourth case, the first communication function sends the fourth communication function information to the terminal device; wherein the fourth case includes at least one of the following: the fourth indication information indicates any one of pre-establishment, no transfer, no switching, and no conversion; the fifth indication information indicates any one of simultaneous, concurrent, concurrent reception, and parallel; and the eighth indication information indicates that simultaneous or parallel operation is allowed.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1-6, wherein, The execution of the second operation further includes: The first communication function learns the second user identifier and the second session information from the second communication function; The first communication function determines the second session based on the second user identifier and the second session information.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1-7, wherein, Performing the first operation includes at least one of the following: In the fifth scenario, the first communication function sends at least one of the following to the terminal device: first indication information, used to indicate any one of allowing switching, allowing conversion, and allowing transfer; second indication information; second session-related information; wherein the fifth scenario includes at least one of the following: the seventh indication information indicates any one of being in the same terminal device, enabled, and activated; the sixth indication information indicates any one of allowing switching, allowing transfer, and allowing conversion; In the sixth case, the first communication function sends at least one of the following to the terminal device: the first indication information, used to indicate that switching, conversion, and transfer are not allowed; the third indication information; wherein, the sixth case includes at least one of the following: the seventh indication information indicating that the device is not in the same terminal device, is disabled, or is deactivated; the sixth indication information indicating that switching, transfer, and conversion are not allowed.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1-8, wherein, The deactivation or cessation of reserved, requested, or established user plane resources for the first session includes at least one of the following: Stop sending at least one of N2 and N4 messages; After the first session is established, activate the user plane resources of the first session.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1-9, wherein, The fourth piece of information is sent to the terminal device via a session establishment response or a session update command.

11. A session processing method, comprising: The terminal device performs at least one of the following: Send the first message to the first communication function; Receive the fourth information sent by the first communication, and establish a third session based on the fourth information; Send a third message to the second communication function; The first information is related to the first session; The third information is used to indicate the establishment of the first session, and also includes the first information; The fourth information is related to the first session and includes at least one of the following: first indication information, used to indicate any one of allowing switching, disallowing switching, allowing conversion, disallowing conversion, allowing transfer, and disallowing transfer; second indication information, used to indicate any one of allowing simultaneous switching, disallowing simultaneous switching, allowing parallel switching, and disallowing parallel switching; third indication information, used to indicate any one of rejecting the first session, the first session failing to establish, and releasing the first session; and information related to the second session. The first information includes at least one of the following: information of the second session; fourth indication information, used to indicate any one of handover, transfer, conversion, pre-establishment, no transfer, no handover, and no conversion; fifth indication information, used to indicate any one of not simultaneous, not parallel, single transmission, single transmission, single reception, simultaneous, concurrent, concurrent reception, and parallel; and ninth indication information, used to indicate dual access or multiple access. The first session is established through the first network; The second session is established through a second network; The third session is established through the second network.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein, The first information and / or the third information are carried through a session establishment request message or a session update request message.

13. A session processing method, comprising: The second communication function receives third information from the terminal device; The second communication function performs at least one of the following based on at least one of the third and fifth information: Send the third information to the first communication function; select the first communication function; invoke the session service operation of the first communication function; send the information of the first session and the third information to the first communication function; The third information includes the information of the first session and the first information; The first information includes at least one of the following: information of the second session; fourth indication information, used to indicate any one of handover, transfer, conversion, pre-establishment, no transfer, no handover, and no conversion; fifth indication information, used to indicate any one of not simultaneous, not parallel, single transmission, single transmission, single reception, simultaneous, concurrent, concurrent reception, and parallel; and ninth indication information, used to indicate dual access or multiple access. The fifth piece of information is related to the second user identifier and includes: information about the second session and information related to the first communication function.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein, The third piece of information is also related to the first user identifier.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein, Before the second communication function receives the third information from the terminal device, the method further includes at least one of the following: The second communication function obtains the second user identifier from the third communication function based on the first user identifier; The second communication function invokes the subscription service of the third communication function based on the first user identifier, and the subscription service is related to the fifth information.

16. The method according to claim 14 or 15, wherein, The method further includes: The second communication function learns the fifth information from the third communication function.

17. The method according to any one of claims 14-16, wherein, The method further includes: The second communication function sends the second user identifier and the first user identifier to the first communication function.

18. A session processing method, comprising: The third communication function sends the second information to the first communication function; The second information is used to instruct the execution of at least one of the first operation, the second operation, and the third operation; The first operation includes: sending fourth information based on at least one of the second information and the first information, wherein the fourth information is related to the first session; The second operation includes at least one of the following: determining not to establish, reserve, apply for, or activate the resources for the first session; deactivating or stopping the reservation, application, or establishment of user plane resources for the first session; stopping the transmission of information related to the first session to the access network node; deactivating the user plane resources for the second session; releasing the second session; and sending fourth communication function information to the terminal device, wherein the fourth communication function information is used by the terminal device to send protocol messages through the fourth communication function indicated by the user to the fourth communication function. The third operation includes associating the first session and the second session; The first information is related to the first session; Wherein, the second information is related to at least one of the first session and the first user identifier, including at least one of the following: Information from the first session; First user identifier; Information from the second session; The sixth instruction information is used to indicate any one of the following: handover allowed, transfer allowed, conversion allowed, transfer not allowed, handover not allowed, and conversion not allowed. The seventh instruction information is used to indicate any one of the following: in the same terminal device, not in the same terminal device, enabled, disabled, activated, and deactivated; The eighth instruction information is used to indicate any one of the following: simultaneous transmission is allowed, simultaneous transmission is not allowed, parallel transmission is allowed, parallel transmission is not allowed, single transmission, single transmission, and single reception. The first session is established through the first network; The second session is established through a second network.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein, Before the third communication function sends the second information to the first communication function, the method further includes at least one of the following: The third communication function performs registration for the first user identifier, and the third communication function performs registration for the second user identifier; The third communication function receives a seventh indication message sent by the first communication function, the seventh indication message including at least one of the following: The tenth instruction information is used to indicate dual access or multiple access; Information from the first session; First user identifier.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein, The method further includes at least one of the following: The third communication function sets the sixth indication information based on whether the first user identifier and the second user identifier are in the same device; The third communication function receives the sixth information from the fourth communication function, and performs at least one of the following based on the sixth information: Send the second information to the first communication function; The first communication function is determined or selected based on the relationship between the second user identifier and the first user identifier, wherein the first communication function is related to the first user identifier; The eighth indication information is set based on the subscription information or configuration information of the second user identifier or the first user identifier; The decision to send or not send the second information is based on the second user identifier or the subscription information or configuration information of the first user identifier; The decision to send or not send the second information is based on whether the first user identifier and the second user identifier are in the same device; Based on the tenth instruction information, determine whether to send or not send the second information; Subscribe to session state information via the fourth communication function; Subscribe to session state information for the fourth communication function based on the subscription information or configuration information of the second user identifier; Based on the first user identifier and the second user identifier, or whether they are in the same device, subscribe to the session state information of the fourth communication function; The sixth piece of information related to the second user identifier includes at least one of the following: Registration instructions; Session state information; The eleventh instruction is used to indicate dual access or multiple access; Information from the second session; The session state information indicates the session information and the session state.

21. The method according to claim 19 or 20, wherein, The method includes at least one of the following: The third communication function, based on the fact that the first user identifier and the second user identifier are in the same device, sets the sixth indication information to any one of indicating permission to switch, permission to transfer, and permission to switch; The third communication function, based on the fact that the first user identifier and the second user identifier are not in the same device, sets the sixth indication information to indicate any one of switching not allowed, transfer not allowed, and conversion not allowed.

22. A session processing apparatus, applied to a first communication function, comprising: A receiving module is configured to receive at least one of first information from a terminal device and second information from a third communication function; A processing module for performing at least one of the first operation, the second operation, and the third operation; The first operation includes: sending fourth information to the terminal device based on at least one of the second information and the first information, wherein the fourth information is related to the first session; The second operation includes at least one of the following: determining not to establish, reserve, apply for, or activate the resources for the first session; deactivating or stopping the reservation, application, or establishment of user plane resources for the first session; stopping the transmission of information related to the first session to the access network node; deactivating the user plane resources for the second session; releasing the second session; and sending fourth communication function information to the terminal device, wherein the fourth communication function information is used by the terminal device to send protocol messages through the fourth communication function indicated by the user to the fourth communication function. The third operation includes associating the first session and the second session; The first information is related to the first session; The second information is related to at least one of the first session and the first user identifier; The fourth information includes at least one of the following: first indication information, used to indicate any one of allowing switching, disallowing switching, allowing conversion, disallowing conversion, allowing transfer, and disallowing transfer; second indication information, used to indicate any one of allowing simultaneous operation, disallowing simultaneous operation, allowing parallel operation, and disallowing parallel operation; third indication information, used to indicate any one of rejecting the first session, the first session failing to establish, and releasing the first session; and information related to the second session. The first session is established through the first network; The second session is established through a second network.

23. The apparatus according to claim 22, wherein, The first session is associated with a first user identifier, and / or the second session is associated with a second user identifier, and / or the first information is received through the first network.

24. A session processing apparatus, applied to a terminal device, comprising: The first execution module is used to perform at least one of the following: Send the first message to the first communication function; Receive the fourth information sent by the first communication, and establish a third session based on the fourth information; Send a third message to the second communication function; The first information is related to the first session; The third information is used to indicate the establishment of the first session, and also includes the first information; The fourth information is related to the first session and includes at least one of the following: first indication information, used to indicate any one of allowing switching, disallowing switching, allowing conversion, disallowing conversion, allowing transfer, and disallowing transfer; second indication information, used to indicate any one of allowing simultaneous switching, disallowing simultaneous switching, allowing parallel switching, and disallowing parallel switching; third indication information, used to indicate any one of rejecting the first session, the first session failing to establish, and releasing the first session; and information related to the second session. The first information includes at least one of the following: information of the second session; fourth indication information, used to indicate any one of handover, transfer, conversion, pre-establishment, no transfer, no handover, and no conversion; fifth indication information, used to indicate any one of not simultaneous, not parallel, single transmission, single transmission, single reception, simultaneous, concurrent, concurrent reception, and parallel; and ninth indication information, used to indicate dual access or multiple access. The first session is established through the first network; The second session is established through a second network; The third session is established through the second network.

25. The apparatus according to claim 24, wherein, The first information and / or the third information are carried through a session establishment request message or a session update request message.

26. A session processing apparatus for a second communication function, comprising: The information receiving module is used to receive third-party information from the terminal device; The second execution module is configured to perform at least one of the following based on at least one of the third and fifth information: Send the third information to the first communication function; select the first communication function; invoke the session service operation of the first communication function; send the information of the first session and the third information to the first communication function; The third information includes the information of the first session and the first information; The first information includes at least one of the following: information of the second session; fourth indication information, used to indicate any one of handover, transfer, conversion, pre-establishment, no transfer, no handover, and no conversion; fifth indication information, used to indicate any one of not simultaneous, not parallel, single transmission, single transmission, single reception, simultaneous, concurrent, concurrent reception, and parallel; and ninth indication information, used to indicate dual access or multiple access. The fifth piece of information is related to the second user identifier and includes: information about the second session and information related to the first communication function.

27. The apparatus according to claim 26, wherein, The device further includes at least one of the following: The acquisition module is used to obtain the second user identifier from the third communication function based on the first user identifier; The calling module is used to call the subscription service of the third communication function based on the first user identifier, and the subscription service is related to the fifth information.

28. A session processing apparatus for a third communication function, comprising: The sending module is used to send the second information to the first communication function; The second information is used to instruct the execution of at least one of the first operation, the second operation, and the third operation; The first operation includes: sending fourth information based on at least one of the second information and the first information, wherein the fourth information is related to the first session; The second operation includes at least one of the following: determining not to establish, reserve, apply for, or activate the resources for the first session; deactivating or stopping the reservation, application, or establishment of user plane resources for the first session; stopping the transmission of information related to the first session to the access network node; deactivating the user plane resources for the second session; releasing the second session; and sending fourth communication function information to the terminal device, wherein the fourth communication function information is used by the terminal device to send protocol messages through the fourth communication function indicated by the user to the fourth communication function. The third operation includes associating the first session and the second session; The first information is related to the first session; Wherein, the second information is related to at least one of the first session and the first user identifier, including at least one of the following: Information from the first session; First user identifier; Information from the second session; The sixth instruction information is used to indicate any one of the following: handover allowed, transfer allowed, conversion allowed, transfer not allowed, handover not allowed, and conversion not allowed. The seventh instruction information is used to indicate any one of the following: in the same terminal device, not in the same terminal device, enabled, disabled, activated, and deactivated; The eighth instruction information is used to indicate any one of the following: simultaneous transmission is allowed, simultaneous transmission is not allowed, parallel transmission is allowed, parallel transmission is not allowed, single transmission, single transmission, and single reception. The first session is established through the first network; The second session is established through a second network.

29. A terminal device comprising a processor and a memory, the memory storing a program or instructions executable on the processor, the program or instructions, when executed by the processor, implementing the session processing method as described in claim 11 or 12.

30. A network-side device, comprising a processor and a memory, the memory storing a program or instructions executable on the processor, the program or instructions, when executed by the processor, implementing the session processing method as described in any one of claims 1 to 10, or implementing the session processing method as described in any one of claims 13 to 21.

31. A readable storage medium storing a program or instructions that, when executed by a processor, implement the session processing method as described in any one of claims 1-21.

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