Communication method, communication apparatus and communication system

Abstract

A communication method, a communication apparatus and a communication system. The method comprises: if a network side decides to start an energy saving operation for a terminal, then notifying the terminal that a network is required to execute the energy saving operation for the terminal, so that the terminal can accurately know that the network is required to execute the energy saving operation for the terminal, and then the terminal can make preparations related to network energy saving in advance, or the terminal can participate in energy saving, or the terminal feeds back to the network regarding whether the terminal agrees to save energy, etc., thereby facilitating an improvement in an energy saving effect.

Description

A communication method, communication device and communication system

[0001] Cross-reference to related applications

[0002] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202411234079.4, filed on September 2, 2024, entitled "A Communication Method, Communication Device and Communication System", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] This application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method, communication device and communication system. Background Technology

[0004] After a terminal accesses the network, the network can provide services to the terminal. For example, the network can establish one or more sessions for the terminal. Each session can include one or more quality of service (QoS) streams, so that the network can provide data transmission services to the terminal through sessions or QoS streams.

[0005] Networks consume energy when providing services to terminals. To reduce energy consumption, networks can implement energy-saving operations, but how to improve the energy-saving effect remains to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0006] This application provides a communication method, communication device, and communication system to improve energy-saving performance.

[0007] In a first aspect, embodiments of this application provide a communication method that can be applied to a network side, such as a first device on the network side, a module (e.g., a circuit, chip, or chip system) in the first device, or a logic node, logic module, or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the first device. The method includes: determining whether a power-saving operation needs to be performed on a terminal; and if a power-saving operation needs to be performed on the terminal, sending a notification message to the terminal, the notification message indicating that the network needs to perform a power-saving operation on the terminal.

[0008] Based on the above scheme, if the network side decides to initiate energy-saving operations for the terminal, it will notify the terminal that the network needs to perform energy-saving operations for the terminal. In this way, the terminal can accurately know that the network needs to perform energy-saving operations for the terminal, and then the terminal can make preparations related to network energy saving in advance, or the terminal can participate in energy saving, or the terminal can provide feedback to the network whether the terminal agrees to energy saving, etc., which helps to improve the energy-saving effect.

[0009] In one possible implementation, the notification information includes the terminal's identification information.

[0010] In one possible implementation, the notification information further includes first indication information, which is used to instruct the network to perform energy-saving operations on the terminal; or, the name of the notification information is used to instruct the network to perform energy-saving operations on the terminal.

[0011] Based on the above scheme, the first instruction information or the name of the notification information indicates that the network needs to perform energy-saving operations on the terminal. In this way, the terminal can know the type of energy saving performed by the network, that is, energy saving for the entire terminal. Thus, the terminal can make preparations related to network energy saving in advance, or the terminal can participate in energy saving, or the terminal can provide feedback to the network whether the terminal agrees to energy saving for the entire terminal, etc., which helps to improve the energy-saving effect.

[0012] In one possible implementation, feedback information is received from the terminal, the feedback information including second indication information and / or third indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate that the terminal agrees to perform energy-saving operation on the terminal, or to indicate that the terminal does not agree to perform energy-saving operation on the terminal, and the third indication information being used to indicate that the terminal has received the notification information.

[0013] Based on the above scheme, the terminal sends feedback information to the network side, which helps the network to accurately determine whether energy saving needs to be activated or when to activate energy saving based on the feedback from the terminal, thereby helping to save energy better and improving the energy saving effect.

[0014] In one possible implementation, the energy-saving operation is initiated when the feedback information includes the second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate that the terminal agrees to perform energy-saving operations on the terminal; or, the energy-saving operation is initiated when the feedback information includes the third indication information; or, the energy-saving operation is not initiated when the feedback information includes the second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate that the terminal does not agree to perform energy-saving operations on the terminal.

[0015] Based on the above scheme, the terminal sends feedback information to the network side, which helps the network to accurately determine whether energy saving needs to be activated or when to activate energy saving based on the feedback from the terminal, thereby helping to save energy better and improving the energy saving effect.

[0016] In one possible implementation, determining whether a power-saving operation needs to be performed on the terminal includes: when the power consumption of the terminal exceeds the upper limit of the power consumption corresponding to the terminal, determining that a power-saving operation needs to be performed on the terminal.

[0017] Based on the above scheme, it is possible to accurately determine whether energy-saving operations need to be initiated for the terminal, which helps to achieve precise energy saving and thus improve the energy-saving effect.

[0018] In one possible implementation, the notification information includes identification information of the terminal's first session.

[0019] In one possible implementation, the notification information further includes fourth indication information, which is used to instruct the network to perform energy-saving operations for the first session; or, the name of the notification information is used to instruct the network to perform energy-saving operations for the first session.

[0020] Based on the above scheme, the fourth instruction information in the notification information or the name of the notification information indicates that the network needs to perform energy-saving operations for the first session of the terminal. In this way, the terminal can know the type of energy saving performed by the network, that is, energy saving for a specific session of the terminal. Thus, the terminal can make preparations related to network energy saving in advance, or the terminal can participate in energy saving, or the terminal can provide feedback to the network whether the terminal agrees to energy saving for the first session of the terminal, etc., which helps to improve the energy-saving effect.

[0021] In one possible implementation, feedback information is received from the terminal, the feedback information including a fifth indication and / or a sixth indication, the fifth indication being used to indicate that the terminal agrees to perform energy-saving operations for the first session, or to indicate that the terminal does not agree to perform energy-saving operations for the first session, and the sixth indication being used to indicate that the terminal has received the notification information.

[0022] Based on the above scheme, the terminal sends feedback information to the network side, which helps the network to accurately determine whether energy saving needs to be activated or when to activate energy saving based on the feedback from the terminal, thereby helping to save energy better and improving the energy saving effect.

[0023] In one possible implementation, a power-saving operation is initiated when the feedback information includes the fifth indication information, and the fifth indication information is used to indicate that the terminal agrees to perform a power-saving operation for the first session; or, a power-saving operation is initiated when the feedback information includes the sixth indication information; or, a power-saving operation is not initiated when the feedback information includes the fifth indication information, and the fifth indication information is used to indicate that the terminal does not agree to perform a power-saving operation for the first session.

[0024] Based on the above scheme, the terminal sends feedback information to the network side, which helps the network to accurately determine whether energy saving needs to be activated or when to activate energy saving based on the feedback from the terminal, thereby helping to save energy better and improving the energy saving effect.

[0025] In one possible implementation, determining whether a power-saving operation needs to be performed on the terminal includes: when the power consumption of the first session exceeds the power consumption upper limit value corresponding to the first session, determining that a power-saving operation needs to be performed on the first session.

[0026] Based on the above scheme, it is possible to accurately determine whether the first session energy-saving operation for the terminal needs to be initiated, which helps to achieve precise energy saving and thus improve the energy-saving effect.

[0027] In one possible implementation, the notification information includes identification information of the terminal's first quality of service flow.

[0028] In one possible implementation, the first quality of service flow belongs to the first session of the terminal, and the notification information also includes the identification information of the first session.

[0029] In one possible implementation, the notification information further includes a seventh indication, which indicates that the network needs to perform energy-saving operations on the first quality of service flow; or, the name of the notification information indicates that the network needs to perform energy-saving operations on the first quality of service flow.

[0030] Based on the above scheme, the seventh instruction information in the notification information or the name of the notification information indicates that the network needs to perform energy-saving operations on the terminal's first quality of service flow. In this way, the terminal can know the type of energy saving performed by the network, that is, energy saving for the specific quality of service flow of the terminal. Thus, the terminal can make preparations related to network energy saving in advance, or the terminal can participate in energy saving, or the terminal can provide feedback to the network whether the terminal agrees to energy saving for the terminal's first quality of service flow, etc., which helps to improve the energy-saving effect.

[0031] In one possible implementation, feedback information is received from the terminal, the feedback information including an eighth indication and / or a ninth indication, the eighth indication being used to indicate that the terminal agrees to perform energy-saving operations on the first quality of service flow, or to indicate that the terminal does not agree to perform energy-saving operations on the first quality of service flow, and the ninth indication being used to indicate that the terminal has received the notification information.

[0032] Based on the above scheme, the terminal sends feedback information to the network side, which helps the network to accurately determine whether energy saving needs to be activated or when to activate energy saving based on the feedback from the terminal, thereby helping to save energy better and improving the energy saving effect.

[0033] In one possible implementation, if the feedback information includes the eighth indication information, and the eighth indication information is used to indicate that the terminal agrees to perform energy-saving operations on the first quality of service flow, then the energy-saving operation is initiated; or, if the feedback information includes the ninth indication information, then the energy-saving operation is initiated; or, if the feedback information includes the eighth indication information, and the eighth indication information is used to indicate that the terminal does not agree to perform energy-saving operations on the first quality of service flow, then the energy-saving operation is not initiated.

[0034] Based on the above scheme, the terminal sends feedback information to the network side, which helps the network to accurately determine whether energy saving needs to be activated or when to activate energy saving based on the feedback from the terminal, thereby helping to save energy better and improving the energy saving effect.

[0035] In one possible implementation, determining whether an energy-saving operation needs to be performed on the terminal includes: when the power consumption of the first quality of service stream exceeds the upper limit of the power consumption corresponding to the first quality of service stream, determining that an energy-saving operation needs to be performed on the first quality of service stream.

[0036] Based on the above scheme, it is possible to accurately determine whether to initiate energy-saving operations for the first quality of service flow of the terminal, which helps to achieve precise energy saving and thus improve the energy-saving effect.

[0037] In one possible implementation, before sending the notification information to the terminal, the capability information of the terminal is obtained, the capability information being used to indicate that the terminal supports adjusting energy-saving parameters and / or supports energy-saving feedback; sending the notification information to the terminal includes: sending the notification information to the terminal based on the capability information.

[0038] Based on the above scheme, the network side can accurately determine whether it needs to send a notification to the terminal to instruct the network to save energy for the terminal based on the terminal's capability information, which helps to achieve precise energy saving.

[0039] Secondly, embodiments of this application provide a communication method that can be applied to the terminal side, such as a terminal or a communication module within a terminal, or a circuit or chip (such as a modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a system-on-chip (SoC) chip or system-in-package (SIP) chip containing a modem core) responsible for communication functions within the terminal. The method includes: receiving notification information, the notification information indicating that the network needs to perform energy-saving operations on the terminal; and initiating energy-saving operations according to the notification information.

[0040] Based on the above scheme, if the network side decides to initiate energy-saving operations for the terminal, it will notify the terminal that the network needs to perform energy-saving operations for the terminal. In this way, the terminal can accurately know that the network needs to perform energy-saving operations for the terminal, and thus the terminal can participate in energy saving, which helps to improve the energy-saving effect.

[0041] In one possible implementation, the notification information includes the terminal's identification information.

[0042] In one possible implementation, the notification information further includes first indication information, which is used to instruct the network to perform energy-saving operations on the terminal; or, the name of the notification information is used to instruct the network to perform energy-saving operations on the terminal.

[0043] Based on the above scheme, the first instruction information or the name of the notification information indicates that the network needs to perform energy-saving operations on the terminal. In this way, the terminal can know the type of energy saving performed by the network, that is, energy saving is performed on the entire terminal. Thus, the terminal can participate in energy saving, which helps to improve the energy-saving effect.

[0044] In one possible implementation, the notification information includes identification information of the terminal's first session.

[0045] In one possible implementation, the notification information further includes fourth indication information, which is used to instruct the network to perform energy-saving operations for the first session; or, the name of the notification information is used to instruct the network to perform energy-saving operations for the first session.

[0046] Based on the above scheme, the fourth instruction information in the notification information or the name of the notification information indicates that the network needs to perform energy-saving operations for the first session of the terminal. In this way, the terminal can know the type of energy saving performed by the network, that is, energy saving for a specific session of the terminal. Thus, the terminal can participate in energy saving, which helps to improve the energy-saving effect.

[0047] In one possible implementation, the notification information includes identification information of the terminal's first quality of service flow.

[0048] In one possible implementation, the first quality of service flow belongs to the first session of the terminal, and the notification information also includes the identification information of the first session.

[0049] In one possible implementation, the notification information further includes a seventh indication, which indicates that the network needs to perform energy-saving operations on the first quality of service flow; or, the name of the notification information indicates that the network needs to perform energy-saving operations on the first quality of service flow.

[0050] Based on the above scheme, the seventh instruction information in the notification information or the name of the notification information indicates that the network needs to perform energy-saving operations for the first quality of service flow of the terminal. In this way, the terminal can know the type of energy saving performed by the network, that is, energy saving for the specific quality of service flow of the terminal. Thus, the terminal can participate in energy saving, which helps to improve the energy-saving effect.

[0051] Thirdly, embodiments of this application provide a communication method that can be applied to the terminal side, such as a terminal or a communication module within a terminal, or a circuit or chip (such as a modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core) responsible for communication functions within the terminal. The method includes: receiving notification information, the notification information indicating that the network needs to perform energy-saving operations on the terminal; and sending feedback information, the feedback information indicating whether the terminal agrees to the energy-saving operation and / or indicating that the terminal has received the notification information.

[0052] Based on the above scheme, if the network side decides to initiate energy-saving operations for the terminal, it will notify the terminal that the network needs to perform energy-saving operations for the terminal. In this way, the terminal can accurately know that the network needs to perform energy-saving operations for the terminal. Then, the terminal can provide feedback to the network on whether the terminal agrees to energy saving and / or whether it has received the notification information. This allows the network side to accurately determine whether and when to start energy saving based on the terminal's feedback information, which helps to improve the energy-saving effect.

[0053] In one possible implementation, the notification information includes the terminal's identification information.

[0054] In one possible implementation, the notification information further includes first indication information, which is used to instruct the network to perform energy-saving operations on the terminal; or, the name of the notification information is used to instruct the network to perform energy-saving operations on the terminal.

[0055] Based on the above scheme, the first instruction information or the name of the notification information indicates that the network needs to perform energy-saving operations on the terminal. Thus, the terminal can know the type of energy saving performed by the network, that is, energy saving for the entire terminal. Then, the terminal can provide feedback to the network whether it agrees to energy saving for the entire terminal and / or whether it has received the notification information. This allows the network to accurately determine whether and when to start energy saving based on the feedback information from the terminal, which helps to improve the energy-saving effect.

[0056] In one possible implementation, when the feedback information is used to indicate whether the terminal agrees to the energy-saving operation, the feedback information includes second indication information, which is used to indicate whether the terminal agrees to the energy-saving operation or to indicate whether the terminal disagrees with the energy-saving operation.

[0057] Based on the above scheme, the terminal sends feedback information to the network side, which helps the network to accurately determine whether energy saving needs to be activated or when to activate energy saving based on the feedback from the terminal, thereby helping to save energy better and improving the energy saving effect.

[0058] In one possible implementation, the notification information includes identification information of the terminal's first session.

[0059] In one possible implementation, the notification information further includes fourth indication information, which is used to instruct the network to perform energy-saving operations for the first session; or, the name of the notification information is used to instruct the network to perform energy-saving operations for the first session.

[0060] Based on the above scheme, the fourth instruction information in the notification information or the name of the notification information indicates that the network needs to perform energy-saving operation for the first session of the terminal. In this way, the terminal can know the type of energy saving performed by the network, that is, energy saving for a specific session of the terminal. Then, the terminal can provide feedback to the network on whether the terminal agrees to energy saving for a specific session of the terminal and / or whether it has received the notification information. This allows the network to accurately determine whether and when to start energy saving based on the feedback information from the terminal, which helps to improve the energy-saving effect.

[0061] In one possible implementation, when the feedback information is used to indicate whether the terminal agrees to the energy-saving operation, the feedback information includes fifth indication information, which is used to indicate whether the terminal agrees to the energy-saving operation for the first session, or to indicate whether the terminal disagrees with the energy-saving operation for the first session.

[0062] Based on the above scheme, the terminal sends feedback information to the network side, which helps the network to accurately determine whether energy saving needs to be activated or when to activate energy saving based on the feedback from the terminal, thereby helping to save energy better and improving the energy saving effect.

[0063] In one possible implementation, the notification information includes identification information of the terminal's first quality of service flow.

[0064] In one possible implementation, the first quality of service flow belongs to the first session of the terminal, and the notification information also includes the identification information of the first session.

[0065] In one possible implementation, the notification information further includes a seventh indication, which indicates that the network needs to perform energy-saving operations on the first quality of service flow; or, the name of the notification information indicates that the network needs to perform energy-saving operations on the first quality of service flow.

[0066] Based on the above scheme, the seventh instruction information in the notification information or the name of the notification information indicates that the network needs to perform energy-saving operations on the terminal's first quality of service flow. Thus, the terminal can know the type of energy saving performed by the network, that is, energy saving for the specific quality of service flow of the terminal. Then, the terminal can provide feedback to the network on whether the terminal agrees to energy saving for the specific quality of service flow of the terminal and / or whether it has received the notification information. This allows the network to accurately determine whether and when to start energy saving based on the feedback information from the terminal, which helps to improve the energy-saving effect.

[0067] In one possible implementation, when the feedback information is used to indicate whether the terminal agrees to the energy-saving operation, the feedback information includes an eighth indication information, which is used to indicate whether the terminal agrees to the energy-saving operation for the first quality of service flow, or to indicate whether the terminal disagrees with the energy-saving operation for the first quality of service flow.

[0068] Based on the above scheme, the terminal sends feedback information to the network side, which helps the network to accurately determine whether energy saving needs to be activated or when to activate energy saving based on the feedback from the terminal, thereby helping to save energy better and improving the energy saving effect.

[0069] In one possible implementation, an energy-saving operation is initiated based on the notification information.

[0070] Based on the above scheme, the terminal initiates energy-saving operation according to the notification information, so that the terminal and the network side cooperate to save energy, which helps to improve the energy-saving effect.

[0071] In one possible implementation, before receiving the notification information, the terminal's capability information is sent, which is used to indicate that the terminal supports adjusting energy-saving parameters and / or supports energy-saving feedback.

[0072] Based on the above scheme, the terminal sends its capability information to the network side. The network side then uses this capability information to accurately determine whether it needs to send a notification to the terminal instructing the network to perform energy conservation measures for the terminal, which helps to achieve precise energy conservation.

[0073] Fourthly, this application provides a communication device that has the functions of the first aspect described above. For example, the communication device includes modules, units, or means that perform the operations involved in the first aspect. These modules, units, or means can be implemented by software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0074] Fifthly, this application provides a communication device that has the functions of implementing the second or third aspects described above. For example, the communication device includes modules, units, or means corresponding to the operations involved in the second or third aspects described above. These modules, units, or means can be implemented by software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0075] Sixthly, this application provides a communication device including an interface circuit and one or more processors. The one or more processors are coupled to a memory. The memory stores part or all of the necessary computer program or instructions for implementing the functions described in the first aspect above. The one or more processors are executable to carry out the computer program or instructions, causing the communication device to implement the methods in any possible design or implementation of the first aspect above. The interface circuit is used to implement the communication functions within the communication device and / or the communication functions between the communication device and other devices or components.

[0076] The aforementioned communication device may be a first device, a module (e.g., a circuit, a chip, or a chip system) in the first device, or a logic node, logic module, or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the first device.

[0077] In a seventh aspect, this application provides a communication device including an interface circuit and one or more processors. The one or more processors are coupled to a memory. The memory stores part or all of the necessary computer programs or instructions for implementing the functions described in the second or third aspect above. The one or more processors are executable to the computer programs or instructions, which, when executed, cause the communication device to implement the methods in any possible design or implementation of the second or third aspect above. The interface circuit is used to implement communication functions within the communication device and / or communication functions between the communication device and other devices or components.

[0078] In one possible design, the processor is used to communicate with other devices or components through the interface circuit.

[0079] In one possible design, the communication device may also include the memory.

[0080] The aforementioned communication device may be a terminal, a communication module in a terminal, or a chip in a terminal that is responsible for communication functions, such as a modem chip (also known as a baseband chip) or a SoC or SIP chip containing a modem module.

[0081] Eighthly, this application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program or instructions that, when executed, implement any one of the possible implementation methods of the first to third aspects described above.

[0082] Ninthly, this application provides a computer program product comprising a computer program or instructions that, when executed, implement the methods in any possible implementation of the first to third aspects described above.

[0083] In a tenth aspect, this application provides a chip system for implementing any one of the possible implementation methods of the first to third aspects described above.

[0084] Eleventhly, this application provides a communication system, including a first device for performing any possible implementation of the first aspect above, and a terminal for performing any possible implementation of the second aspect above.

[0085] In a twelfth aspect, this application provides a communication system, including a first device for performing any possible implementation of the first aspect described above, and a terminal for performing any possible implementation of the third aspect described above. Attached Figure Description

[0086] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a 5G network architecture based on a service-oriented architecture;

[0087] Figure 2 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0088] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0089] Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0090] Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0091] Figure 6 is a possible exemplary block diagram of the communication device involved in the embodiments of this application;

[0092] Figure 7 is a possible exemplary block diagram of the communication device involved in the embodiments of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0093] To address the challenges of wireless broadband technology and maintain the leading edge of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) network, the 3GPP standards group developed the 5th generation (5G) network architecture. This architecture not only supports terminals accessing the 5G core network (CN) via radio access technologies defined by the 3GPP standards group (such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) and 5G Radio Access Network (RAN), but also supports terminals accessing the core network using non-3GPP access technologies through non-3GPP interworking functions (N3IWF) or next-generation packet data gateways (ngPDG).

[0094] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a service-oriented architecture-based 5G network. The 5G network architecture shown in Figure 1 may include access network equipment and core network equipment. Terminals access the data network (DN) through access network equipment and core network equipment. The core network equipment includes, but is not limited to, some or all of the following network elements: unified data management (UDM) network elements, network repository function (NRF) network elements, network exposure function (NEF) network elements, application function (AF) network elements, policy control function (PCF) network elements, access and mobility management function (AMF) network elements, session management function (SMF) network elements, user plane function (UPF) network elements, charging function (CHF) network elements, or energy efficiency control function (EECF) network elements.

[0095] It should be noted that the term "network element" can be omitted when describing the above network elements (such as SMF network elements, UPF network elements, etc.). For example, an SMF network element can be abbreviated as SMF, a UPF network element as UPF, and so on. This abbreviated description is also used in Figure 1.

[0096] Access network equipment, sometimes also called RAN nodes, RAN entities, or access nodes, is used to help terminals achieve wireless access.

[0097] In one possible scenario, the access network device can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB), a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system. The access network device can be a macro base station, a micro base station, an indoor station, a relay node, or a donor node. Optionally, the access network device can also be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle, or an in-vehicle device. For example, the access network device in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology can be a roadside unit (RSU). All or part of the functions of the access network device in this application can also be implemented through software functions running on hardware, or through virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform). The access network device can also be equipped with communication modules, circuits, or chips that perform corresponding communication functions. The access network device can also be configured with program instructions for performing corresponding communication functions and corresponding program instructions. The access network device in this application may also be a logical node, logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the access network device.

[0098] In another possible scenario, multiple access network devices collaborate to assist the terminal in achieving wireless access, with each device performing a portion of the base station's functions. For example, the access network devices can be a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU). The CU and DU can be separate entities or included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in radio frequency equipment or radio frequency units, such as a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0099] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU may have different names, but those skilled in the art will understand their meaning. For example, in an open radio access network (ORAN) system, CU can also be called O-CU (open CU), DU can also be called O-DU, CU-CP can also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP can also be called O-CU-UP, and RU can also be called O-RU. For ease of description, this application uses CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU, and RU as examples. Any of the units among CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU, and RU in this application can be implemented through a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of software and hardware modules.

[0100] A terminal can also be called a terminal device, user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile terminal, etc. Terminals can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grids, smart furniture, smart offices, smart wearables, smart transportation, smart cities, etc. Terminals can be mobile phones, tablets, computers with wireless transceiver capabilities, wearable devices, vehicles, drones, helicopters, airplanes, ships, robots, robotic arms, smart home devices, transportation vehicles with wireless communication capabilities, communication modules, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the device form of the terminal. Terminals typically contain communication modules, circuits, or chips that perform corresponding communication functions. The terminal can also be configured with program instructions for performing the corresponding communication functions.

[0101] Access network devices and terminals can be fixed in location or mobile. They can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; they can also be deployed on water; and they can be deployed in the air on aircraft, balloons, and artificial satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios of the access network devices and terminals.

[0102] The AMF (Automatic Mobility Management) network element includes functions such as performing mobility management or access authentication / authorization. In addition, it is responsible for transmitting user policies between the terminal and the PCF (Programmable Default Function) network element.

[0103] SMF network elements include functions such as performing session management, executing control policies issued by PCF network elements, selecting UPF network elements, or allocating Internet Protocol (IP) addresses for terminals.

[0104] UPF network elements include functions such as user plane data forwarding, session / flow-level billing statistics, and bandwidth limiting.

[0105] UDM network elements include functions such as managing contracted data or authorizing user access.

[0106] NEF network elements are used to support the opening of capabilities and events.

[0107] AF (Application Provider) network elements convey application-side requests to the network side, such as QoS requirements or user state event subscriptions. AF can be a third-party functional entity or an application service deployed by the operator, such as the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) voice call service. AF network elements include AF network elements within the core network (i.e., the operator's AF network elements) and third-party AF network elements (such as an enterprise's application server).

[0108] PCF network elements include policy control functions such as billing at the session and service flow levels, QoS bandwidth guarantee and mobility management, or terminal policy decisions.

[0109] NRF network elements can be used to provide network element discovery functionality, providing network element information corresponding to the network element type based on requests from other network elements. NRF network elements also provide network element management services, such as network element registration, updates, deregistration, or network element status subscription and push.

[0110] CHF network elements are responsible for maintaining billing-related information. CHF network elements can interact with AMF network elements, NEF network elements, PCF network elements, etc.

[0111] EECF network elements are responsible for collecting energy consumption-related information (such as the energy consumption of the network element in a given time period, the proportion of clean energy consumption of the network element in the total energy consumption of the network element in a given time period, etc.), calculating energy consumption information at a given granularity, and making energy consumption information at a given granularity available.

[0112] A Domain Provider (DN) is a network located outside the carrier's network. A carrier's network can connect to multiple DNs, and various services can be deployed on a DN, providing data and / or voice services to terminals. For example, a DN might be the private network of a smart factory. Sensors installed in the workshop can act as terminals, and a control server for these sensors is deployed within the DN. The control server provides services to the sensors. Sensors can communicate with the control server, receive instructions from it, and transmit the collected sensor data back to the control server accordingly. Another example is a DN serving as an internal office network for a company. Employees' mobile phones or computers can act as terminals, accessing information and data resources on the company's internal office network.

[0113] In Figure 1, Npcf, Nudm, Naf, Namf, Nsmf, Nnef, Nnrf, Nchf, and Neecf are the service-based interfaces (SBIs) provided by PCF, UDM, AF, AMF, SMF, NEF, NRF, CHF, and EECF, respectively, used to invoke the corresponding service-based operations. N1, N2, N3, N4, and N6 are interface sequence numbers, and their meanings are as follows:

[0114] 1) N1: The interface between the AMF network element and the terminal, which can be used to transmit non-access stratum (NAS) signaling (such as QoS rules from the AMF network element) to the terminal.

[0115] 2) N2: The interface between the AMF network element and the access network equipment, which can be used to transmit radio bearer control information from the core network side to the access network equipment.

[0116] 3) N3: The interface between the access network equipment and the UPF network element, mainly used to transmit uplink and downlink user plane data between the access network equipment and the UPF network element.

[0117] 4) N4: The interface between SMF network elements and UPF network elements. It can be used to transmit information between the control plane and the user plane, including the distribution of forwarding rules, QoS rules, traffic statistics rules, etc. from the control plane to the user plane, as well as the reporting of information from the user plane.

[0118] 5) N6: The interface between the UPF network element and the DN, used to transmit uplink and downlink user data streams between the UPF network element and the DN.

[0119] In the architecture shown in Figure 1, the various network functional elements are connected via a service-oriented bus and interact through service-oriented interfaces. The advantages of a service-oriented bus include improved network flexibility, openness, scalability, and intelligence, enabling support for diverse service scenarios and requirements. The service-oriented bus can be used to transmit various types of data and signaling. For example, it can be used to transmit latency-sensitive real-time signaling (e.g., service-oriented interface call signaling between functional network elements), latency-sensitive real-time data (e.g., real-time AI inference data), and non-real-time data (e.g., offline AI training data). Furthermore, when transmitting this data or signaling, the service-oriented bus couples the data or signaling together; that is, the service-oriented bus can simultaneously transmit real-time signaling, real-time data, and non-real-time data.

[0120] It is understood that the aforementioned network element or function can be a network component in a hardware device, a software function running on dedicated hardware, or a virtualized function instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform). Optionally, the aforementioned network element or function can be implemented by one device, multiple devices working together, or a functional module within a single device; this application embodiment does not limit this.

[0121] The embodiments of this application can be applied not only to the 5G communication system shown in Figure 1, but also to future communication systems. This application does not limit the applicable scenarios.

[0122] After a terminal accesses the network, the network can provide services to the terminal. For example, the network can establish one or more sessions for the terminal, and each session can include one or more QoS flows, so that the network can provide data transmission services to the terminal through sessions or QoS flows.

[0123] Networks consume energy when providing services to terminals. To reduce energy consumption, networks can implement energy-saving operations, but how to improve the energy-saving effect remains to be solved.

[0124] To address the aforementioned issues, this application provides corresponding solutions.

[0125] The communication method, communication device, and communication system provided in this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is understood that this application uses a terminal and a first device as examples to illustrate the execution of the interaction, but this application does not limit the execution subject of the interaction. The method executed by the terminal in this application can also be implemented by a communication module in the terminal or a circuit or chip in the terminal responsible for communication functions (such as a modem chip (also known as a baseband chip), or a SoC chip containing a modem core, or a SIP chip). The method executed by the first device in this application can also be implemented by a module in the first device (e.g., a circuit, chip, or chip system), or a logic node, logic module, or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the first device.

[0126] In this application, the type of the first device is not limited. For example, the first device may be an SMF network element, a PCF network element, an EECF network element, or a CHF network element, etc.

[0127] Figure 2 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. The method includes the following steps:

[0128] Step 201: The first device determines whether an energy-saving operation needs to be performed on the terminal.

[0129] For example, the first device obtains a power consumption limit value and determines whether power-saving operations need to be performed on the terminal based on this limit value. The power consumption limit value can be the power consumption limit value corresponding to the terminal, the power consumption limit value corresponding to the terminal's session, or the power consumption limit value corresponding to the terminal's QoS flow.

[0130] In one implementation method, the first device obtains the terminal's subscription information, which includes the terminal's power consumption cap, the terminal's session power consumption cap, or the terminal's QoS flow power consumption cap. Alternatively, the first device may obtain the power consumption cap through other means, such as through pre-configuration or by receiving the power consumption cap from other network elements.

[0131] It should be noted that the power consumption cap for different sessions can be the same or different. The following explanation uses the example of different sessions having the same power consumption cap, and this power consumption cap will be referred to as the "power consumption cap for the session". The power consumption cap for different QoS flows can be the same or different. The following explanation uses the example of different QoS flows having the same power consumption cap, and this power consumption cap will be referred to as the "power consumption cap for the QoS flow".

[0132] After the first device obtains the upper limit of power consumption, it can further determine the energy-saving granularity, that is, which granularity to use for energy saving.

[0133] The energy-saving granularity can be terminal granularity, session granularity, or QoS stream granularity. In this application, the session can be a protocol data unit (PDU) or other types of sessions, and this application is not limited to this.

[0134] The following sections explain how the terminal device determines whether to perform energy-saving operations based on the power consumption upper limit value for the terminal, the power consumption upper limit value for the terminal's session, or the power consumption upper limit value for the terminal's QoS flow, for three different scenarios, and how to determine the energy-saving granularity.

[0135] In the first scenario, the power consumption limit is the power consumption limit value corresponding to the terminal.

[0136] The first device determines whether the terminal's power consumption exceeds the terminal's corresponding power consumption limit. If the terminal's power consumption exceeds the corresponding power consumption limit, the first device further determines what energy-saving operation to perform on the terminal, that is, determines the energy-saving granularity to be used. Different implementation methods for determining the energy-saving granularity are given below.

[0137] Method 1.1: The energy-saving granularity corresponds to the upper limit of power consumption.

[0138] Since the first device obtains the power consumption limit value corresponding to the terminal, it determines that the energy-saving granularity to be used is terminal-level. For terminal-level energy-saving methods, the first device can perform energy saving on all sessions of the terminal.

[0139] Method 1.2: The first device determines the energy-saving granularity based on the energy consumption generated when the access network device provides services to the terminal.

[0140] When the energy consumption generated by the access network device serving the terminal is greater than or equal to a first threshold and less than a second threshold, the first device determines to perform energy-saving operations at the QoS flow granularity. For example, the first device can save energy on one or more QoS flows of the terminal. For instance, the first device selects one or more QoS flows for energy saving based on the type or importance of the service corresponding to each QoS flow of the terminal. For example, the service corresponding to the one or more QoS flows may not be a specific important service, where an important service could be voice service, etc.; or the importance of the service corresponding to the one or more QoS flows may be lower than a threshold. For instance, the first device selects one or more QoS flows for energy saving based on the power consumption corresponding to each QoS flow of the terminal. For example, the first device selects the N QoS flows with the highest power consumption, where N is a positive integer. N can be specified by the protocol or pre-configured; this application does not impose any restrictions on this. For instance, the first device randomly selects one or more QoS flows from the terminal's QoS flows for energy saving.

[0141] When the energy consumption generated by the access network device while serving the terminal is greater than or equal to the second threshold and less than the third threshold, the first device determines to adopt session-level energy-saving operation. For example, the first device can save energy for one or more sessions of the terminal. For instance, the first device can select one or more sessions to save energy based on the type or importance of the service corresponding to each session of the terminal, or it can select one or more sessions to save energy based on the power consumption corresponding to each session of the terminal, or it can randomly select one or more sessions from the terminal's sessions to save energy. Exemplary implementation methods can refer to the above description of the first device selecting one or more QoS flows, which will not be repeated here.

[0142] When the energy consumption generated by the access network device when serving the terminal is greater than or equal to the third threshold, the first device determines to adopt energy-saving operation at the terminal level.

[0143] Among them, when the energy consumption generated by the access network device is serving a terminal is equal to the second threshold value, the first device can also adopt QoS flow-level energy-saving operation; when the energy consumption generated by the access network device is serving a terminal is equal to the third threshold value, the first device can also adopt session-level energy-saving operation.

[0144] The first device selects an appropriate energy-saving operation mode based on the energy consumption generated by the access network equipment when serving the terminal. This can minimize the number of services affected by energy saving and improve the service experience. Generally, energy saving methods using QoS flow granularity affect the fewest services, followed by those using session granularity, while those using terminal granularity affect the most services.

[0145] Method 1.3: The first device determines the energy-saving granularity based on the energy consumption generated when the UPF serves the terminal.

[0146] When the power consumption generated by the UPF when serving a terminal is greater than or equal to the fourth threshold and less than the fifth threshold, the first device determines to adopt QoS flow-level power-saving operation. When the power consumption generated by the UPF when serving a terminal is greater than or equal to the fifth threshold and less than the sixth threshold, the first device determines to adopt session-level power-saving operation. When the power consumption generated by the UPF when serving a terminal is greater than or equal to the sixth threshold, the first device determines to adopt terminal-level power-saving operation. The QoS flow-level, session-level, and terminal-level power-saving operations can be referred to in Method 1.2, and will not be repeated here.

[0147] Specifically, when the energy consumption generated by the UPF for terminal services is equal to the fifth threshold, the first device can also adopt QoS flow-level energy-saving operations; when the energy consumption generated by the UPF for terminal services is equal to the sixth threshold, the first device can also adopt session-level energy-saving operations.

[0148] The first device selects an appropriate energy-saving operation mode based on the energy consumption generated when the UPF serves the terminal. This can minimize the number of services affected by energy saving and improve the service experience. Generally, energy saving at the QoS flow level affects the fewest services, followed by energy saving at the session level, and energy saving at the terminal level affects the most services.

[0149] Method 1.4: Select energy-saving granularity according to priority order.

[0150] For example, the first device selects the QoS flow granularity energy-saving method for energy saving in the order of QoS flow granularity, session granularity, and terminal granularity. Then, it evaluates the energy-saving effect. If the power consumption of the terminal still exceeds the corresponding power consumption limit, the session granularity energy-saving method is selected for energy saving. If the power consumption of the terminal still exceeds the corresponding power consumption limit, the terminal granularity energy-saving method is selected for energy saving.

[0151] In the second scenario, the power consumption limit is the power consumption limit corresponding to the session.

[0152] The first device determines whether the power consumption of the first session exceeds the power consumption limit corresponding to the session. If the power consumption of the first session exceeds the power consumption limit corresponding to the session, the first device further determines what energy-saving operation to perform on the first session, that is, determines the energy-saving granularity to be used.

[0153] The following are different implementation methods for determining the energy-saving granularity of the first device.

[0154] Method 2.1, the energy-saving granularity corresponds to the upper limit of power consumption.

[0155] Since the first device obtains the power consumption limit value corresponding to the session, it determines that the energy-saving granularity to be used is session-level. For session-level energy-saving methods, the first device can perform energy saving on all QoS flows of the first session.

[0156] Method 2.2: The first device determines the energy-saving granularity based on the energy consumption generated by the access network device when serving the first session.

[0157] When the energy consumption generated by the access network device serving the first session is greater than or equal to the seventh threshold and less than the eighth threshold, the first device determines to adopt QoS flow-level energy-saving operation. For example, the first device can save energy for one or more QoS flows in the first session. These one or more QoS flows can be randomly selected by the first device from the QoS flows of the first session, or selected by the first device based on the service type or importance of each QoS flow in the first session, or selected by the first device based on the power consumption of each QoS flow in the first session. An exemplary implementation can be found in Method 1.2, where the first device selects one or more QoS flows; this will not be elaborated further here.

[0158] When the energy consumption generated by the access network device for the first session is greater than or equal to the eighth threshold, the first device determines to adopt session-level energy-saving operation, such as the first device can save energy for all QoS flows in the first session.

[0159] Among them, when the energy consumption generated by the access network device is for the first session service is equal to the eighth threshold value, the first device can also determine to adopt QoS flow granularity energy-saving operation.

[0160] The first device selects an appropriate energy-saving operation mode based on the energy consumption generated by the access network device when serving the first session. This minimizes the number of services affected by energy saving and improves the service experience. Generally, the number of services affected by energy saving at the QoS flow level is less than the number affected by energy saving at the session level.

[0161] Method 2.3: The first device determines the energy-saving granularity based on the energy consumption generated when the UPF serves the first session.

[0162] When the energy consumption generated by the UPF during the first session service is greater than or equal to the ninth threshold and less than the tenth threshold, the first device determines to adopt QoS flow-level energy-saving operation. When the energy consumption generated by the UPF during the first session service is greater than or equal to the tenth threshold, the first device determines to adopt session-level energy-saving operation. The QoS flow-level and session-level energy-saving operations can be referred to the description in Method 2.2.

[0163] Among them, when the energy consumption generated by the UPF is the first session service is equal to the tenth threshold value, the first device can also determine to adopt the QoS flow granularity energy-saving operation.

[0164] The first device selects an appropriate energy-saving operation mode based on the energy consumption generated when serving the first session using UPF. This minimizes the number of services affected by energy saving and improves the service experience. Generally, the number of services affected by energy saving at the QoS flow level is less than the number affected by energy saving at the session level.

[0165] Method 2.4: Select energy-saving granularity according to priority order.

[0166] For example, the first device selects the QoS flow granularity energy-saving method first for energy saving, and then evaluates the energy saving effect. If the power consumption of the first session still exceeds the power consumption limit of the corresponding session, then the session granularity energy saving method is selected for energy saving.

[0167] In the third scenario, the power consumption limit is the power consumption limit corresponding to the QoS flow.

[0168] The first device determines whether the power consumption of the first QoS stream exceeds the power consumption limit corresponding to the QoS stream. If the power consumption of the first QoS stream exceeds the power consumption limit corresponding to the QoS stream, the first device determines the energy-saving method at the QoS stream granularity to be adopted.

[0169] Step 202: When energy-saving operations need to be performed on the terminal, the first device sends a notification message to the terminal. The terminal then receives the notification message.

[0170] This notification is used to instruct the network to perform energy-saving operations on the terminal.

[0171] The energy-saving granularity of this notification can be terminal-level, session-level, or QoS flow-level. For example, if step 201 determines that a terminal-level energy-saving operation needs to be performed on the terminal, then the energy-saving granularity of this notification is terminal-level. Similarly, if step 201 determines that a session-level energy-saving operation needs to be performed on the terminal, then the energy-saving granularity of this notification is session-level. Furthermore, if step 201 determines that a QoS flow-level energy-saving operation needs to be performed on the terminal, then the energy-saving granularity of this notification is QoS flow-level.

[0172] Different notification methods exist for different levels of energy saving, which will be explained below.

[0173] Scenario 1: Notification method corresponding to energy saving at the terminal level.

[0174] In this situation, the notification information includes the terminal's identification information. In this application, the terminal's identification information may be a subscription permanent identifier (SUPI), a generic public subscription identifier (GPSI), or other information associated with the terminal's identification (such as address information), which will be explained uniformly here.

[0175] In one implementation, the notification information further includes first instruction information, which instructs the network to perform energy-saving operations on the terminal. That is, the first instruction information instructs the network to perform terminal-level energy-saving operations on the terminal.

[0176] In another implementation, the name of the notification message is used to indicate to the network that power-saving operations need to be performed on the terminal. That is, the name of the notification message is used to indicate to the network that power-saving operations need to be performed at the terminal level.

[0177] Scenario 2: Notification method corresponding to the energy-saving method at the session level.

[0178] In this scenario, the notification information includes the identifier of the terminal's first session, which refers to the session requiring energy saving. Optionally, the notification information may also include the terminal's identifier. In this application, the identifier of the first session may be a SessionID or address information associated with the first session (e.g., the context ID corresponding to the first session), which will be explained uniformly here.

[0179] In one implementation, the notification information further includes a fourth instruction, which instructs the network to perform power-saving operations for the terminal's first session. That is, the fourth instruction instructs the network to perform session-level power-saving operations for the terminal's first session.

[0180] In another implementation, the name of the notification message is used to indicate to the network that power-saving operations need to be performed for the first session of the terminal. That is, the name of the notification message is used to indicate to the network that session-level power-saving operations need to be performed for the first session of the terminal.

[0181] Scenario 3: Notification method corresponding to QoS flow granularity energy saving method.

[0182] In this scenario, the notification information includes the identifier information of the terminal's first QoS flow, which refers to the QoS flow that requires energy saving. Optionally, if the first QoS flow belongs to the terminal's first session, the notification information may also include the terminal's identifier information and / or the identifier information of the first session. In this application, the identifier information of the first QoS flow may be a QoS flow identity (QFI), a 5G QoS identifier (5QI), packet filter information, etc., which will be explained uniformly here.

[0183] In one implementation, the notification information further includes a seventh indication, which instructs the network to perform energy-saving operations on the first QoS flow of the terminal's first session. That is, the seventh indication instructs the network to perform QoS flow-level energy-saving operations on the first QoS flow of the terminal's first session.

[0184] In another implementation, the name of the notification message is used to indicate to the network that it needs to perform power-saving operations on the first QoS flow of the terminal's first session. That is, the name of the notification message is used to indicate to the network that it needs to perform power-saving operations at the QoS flow granularity for the first QoS flow of the terminal's first session.

[0185] As one implementation method, before step 202 above, the terminal can also send terminal capability information to the first device. This capability information is used to indicate that the terminal supports adjusting energy-saving parameters and / or supports energy-saving feedback. Here, "terminal supports adjusting energy-saving parameters" means that the terminal has the ability to adjust its energy-saving parameters. For example, the terminal's operating system layer can adjust operating system parameters, or the terminal's application layer can adjust application parameters (e.g., heartbeat packet sending interval, video resolution, etc.). "Terminal supports energy-saving feedback" means that after receiving a notification indicating that the network needs to perform energy-saving operations on the terminal, the terminal can send feedback information regarding that notification. This feedback information is used to indicate whether the terminal agrees to the energy-saving operation and / or to indicate whether it has received the notification information. Accordingly, step 202 above can be: the first device sends a notification to the terminal based on the terminal's capability information. That is, after obtaining the terminal's capability information, the first device sends the aforementioned notification information to the terminal based on that capability information. It can be understood that if the terminal does not support adjusting energy-saving parameters and / or does not support energy-saving feedback, the first device may not send the aforementioned notification information to the terminal.

[0186] Based on the above scheme, if the network side decides that it needs to initiate energy-saving operations for the terminal, it will notify the terminal that the network needs to perform energy-saving operations for the terminal. In this way, the terminal can accurately know that the network needs to perform energy-saving operations for the terminal, and then the terminal can make preparations related to network energy saving in advance, or the terminal can participate in energy saving, or the terminal can provide feedback to the network whether the terminal agrees to energy saving, etc., which helps to improve the energy-saving effect.

[0187] It should be noted that steps 201, 202 and other steps that need to be performed can all be performed by the same device. For example, in the foregoing description, steps 201 and 202 are both performed by the first device.

[0188] In another implementation, steps 201, 202, and other necessary steps can be performed by different devices. For example, step 201 can be performed by a first device, which sends an instruction to a second device. This instruction indicates whether a power-saving operation is performed at the terminal level, session level, or QoS flow level, and step 202 can be performed by the second device. Exemplarily, the first device can be one of an SMF, PCF, CHF, or EECF, and the second device can also be one of an SMF, PCF, CHF, or EECF.

[0189] Optionally, after receiving the above notification information, the terminal may perform the following steps 203 and / or 204.

[0190] Step 203: The terminal initiates energy-saving operation based on the notification information.

[0191] Before initiating energy-saving operations based on notification information, the terminal can also determine whether it agrees to the energy-saving operation. If the terminal agrees to energy saving, it will initiate the energy-saving operation.

[0192] For example, corresponding to scenario one in step 202 above, the terminal can determine whether to agree to energy-saving operation based on any of the following methods: 1) If the terminal still needs to transmit critical service data, it disagrees with the energy-saving operation; if the terminal does not need to transmit critical service data, it agrees to the energy-saving operation. Here, critical service can be video service, voice service, emergency service, or service labeled "critical service." 2) The terminal determines whether to agree to energy saving based on its location information. For example, if the terminal has important data to send at a specific location, it disagrees with the energy-saving operation when it is at that specific location, and agrees to the energy-saving operation when it is not at that specific location.

[0193] For example, corresponding to scenario two in step 202 above, the terminal can determine whether to agree to energy-saving operation based on any of the following methods: 1) If the terminal's first session still needs to transmit critical service data, then the energy-saving operation is not agreed to; if the terminal's first session does not need to transmit critical service data, then the energy-saving operation is agreed to. Here, critical services can be video services, voice services, emergency services, or services labeled "critical service." 2) The terminal determines whether to agree to energy saving based on its location information. For example, if the terminal has important data to send through the first session at a specific location, the energy-saving operation is not agreed to when the terminal is at that specific location; the energy-saving operation is agreed to when the terminal is not at that specific location.

[0194] For example, corresponding to scenario three in step 202 above, the terminal can determine whether to agree to the energy-saving operation based on any of the following methods: 1) If the terminal's first QoS stream still needs to transmit data for critical services, then the energy-saving operation is not agreed to; if the terminal's first QoS stream does not currently need to transmit data for critical services, then the energy-saving operation is agreed to. Here, critical services can be video services, voice services, emergency services, or services labeled "critical services." 2) The terminal determines whether to agree to energy saving based on its location information. For example, if the terminal has important data that needs to be sent through the first QoS stream at a specific location, the energy-saving operation is not agreed to when the terminal is at the specific location; the energy-saving operation is agreed to when the terminal is not at the specific location.

[0195] It should be noted that the power-saving operation initiated by the terminal in step 203 is different from the power-saving operation initiated by the network side for the terminal. The power-saving operation initiated by the terminal is illustrated below for different scenarios in step 202. The power-saving operation initiated by the network side for the terminal can be referred to the description in step 204.

[0196] For example, corresponding to scenario one in step 202 above, the terminal initiates energy-saving operations. These operations may include: 1) The terminal notifies applications (APPs) to save energy (e.g., reduce resolution, reduce heartbeat packet transmission frequency, etc.). For instance, the terminal may notify all applications to save energy or notify specific applications based on local policies. 2) The terminal initiates a pre-configured "periodic cell transmit / receive mode" to save terminal energy; the terminal notifies the access network equipment to release air interface resources (i.e., the terminal becomes idle).

[0197] For example, corresponding to scenario two in step 202 above, the terminal initiates a power-saving operation. This power-saving operation may include, for example, the terminal notifying the application (APP) to perform power-saving actions (e.g., reducing resolution, reducing heartbeat packet sending frequency, etc.). Some or all of the application's data is transmitted through the first session. Based on this method, when the terminal receives a notification, it can notify the application corresponding to the first session to perform power-saving actions, such as reducing resolution or reducing heartbeat packet sending frequency, thereby reducing the energy consumption when the first session transmits the application's data, achieving a power-saving effect.

[0198] For example, corresponding to scenario three in step 202 above, the terminal initiates a power-saving operation. This power-saving operation may include, for example, the terminal notifying the application (APP) to perform power saving (e.g., reducing resolution, reducing heartbeat packet sending frequency, etc.). In this case, some or all of the application's data is transmitted through the first QoS stream. Based on this method, when the terminal receives the notification information, it can notify the application corresponding to the first QoS stream to perform power saving, such as reducing resolution or reducing heartbeat packet sending frequency, thereby reducing the energy consumption of the first QoS stream when transmitting the application's data, achieving a power-saving effect.

[0199] Based on this solution, the terminal initiates energy-saving operations according to the notification information, which helps to improve the terminal's energy-saving effect and thus enhance the user's business experience.

[0200] Step 204: The terminal sends feedback information to the first device. Accordingly, the first device receives the feedback information.

[0201] Feedback information is used to indicate whether the terminal agrees to energy-saving operations and / or to indicate that the terminal has received notification information.

[0202] The method for the terminal to determine whether to agree to the energy-saving operation can be referred to the relevant description in step 203 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0203] The following describes the different content of the feedback information sent by the terminal under different circumstances.

[0204] Scenario A: The feedback method corresponding to the terminal-level notification method.

[0205] This situation A corresponds to situation one in step 202 above.

[0206] In this situation, the feedback information sent by the terminal includes a second instruction and / or a third instruction. The second instruction indicates whether the terminal agrees to perform energy-saving operations or disagrees with such operations. The third instruction indicates that the terminal has received a notification.

[0207] Optionally, the feedback information may also include the terminal's identification information.

[0208] In response to this situation, after receiving feedback information, the first device can determine whether to initiate energy-saving operations based on the content carried in the feedback information, that is, whether to initiate terminal-level energy-saving operations on the network side. These terminal-level energy-saving operations on the network side include, for example: 1) The network initiates a "periodic cell transmit / receive mode" to save network-side energy consumption. 2) The network sets a longer-term periodic registration timer for the terminal, resulting in a longer interval between two consecutive registrations, thereby saving energy consumption for both the terminal and the network. 3) The network sets a shorter-term idle-state timer for the terminal, which triggers the network to release the terminal into an idle state, allowing the terminal to enter the idle state more quickly, thus saving energy consumption for both the terminal and the network. 4) The network reduces the UE-AMBR. AMBR refers to the session-aggregate maximum bit rate. 5) The network adjusts the QoS parameters of non-guaranteed bit rate (non-GBR) type QoS flows of multiple PDU sessions of the terminal, for example, by reducing the QoS level. 6) The network adjusts the QoS parameters of multiple best-effort data streams of the terminal, for example, by lowering the QoS level. Best-effort service is a service model that provides minimum performance guarantees; the network sends packets to the greatest extent possible, but provides no guarantees regarding latency, reliability, or other performance aspects.

[0209] For example, if the feedback information includes second instruction information, and the second instruction information is used to instruct the terminal to agree to perform energy-saving operations on the terminal, the first device initiates energy-saving operations. In this case, the feedback information may include only the second instruction information, or it may include both the second instruction information and the third instruction information.

[0210] For example, when the feedback information includes third instruction information, the first device initiates energy-saving operation.

[0211] For example, if the feedback information includes a second instruction, and the second instruction indicates that the terminal does not agree to perform energy-saving operations on the terminal, the first device will not initiate energy-saving operations. In this case, the feedback information may include only the second instruction, or it may include both the second and third instruction. Optionally, after determining that it will not initiate energy-saving operations, the first device may send the aforementioned notification information to the terminal again after a set time has elapsed.

[0212] Scenario B: The feedback method corresponding to the notification method at the session granularity.

[0213] This scenario B corresponds to scenario two in step 202 above.

[0214] In this situation, the feedback information sent by the terminal includes a fifth instruction and / or a sixth instruction. The fifth instruction indicates whether the terminal agrees to perform power-saving operations for the first session or disagrees with such operations. The sixth instruction indicates that the terminal has received a notification.

[0215] Optionally, the feedback information may also include identification information of the first session. Optionally, in addition to including the identification information of the first session, the feedback information may also include the identification information of the terminal.

[0216] In response to this situation, after receiving feedback information, the first device can determine whether to initiate energy-saving operations based on the content carried in the feedback information, that is, whether to initiate network-side session-level energy-saving operations. These network-side session-level energy-saving operations include, for example: 1) the network reducing the Session AMBR (Session-AMBR) of the first session; 2) the network adjusting the QoS parameters of non-non-GBR type QoS flows in the terminal's first PDU session, for example, lowering the QoS level; 3) the network adjusting the QoS parameters of the best-effort service data flows in the terminal's first session, for example, lowering the QoS level; and 4) the network setting a short-duration deactivation timer for the terminal, which triggers the network to release the terminal's first session, thereby saving energy consumption on both the terminal and the network side.

[0217] For example, if the feedback information includes a fifth instruction, and the fifth instruction is used to instruct the terminal to agree to perform a power-saving operation for the first session, the first device initiates a power-saving operation. In this case, the feedback information may include only the fifth instruction, or it may include both the fifth and sixth instruction.

[0218] For example, if the feedback information includes a sixth instruction, the first device initiates an energy-saving operation.

[0219] For example, if the feedback information includes a fifth instruction, and the fifth instruction indicates that the terminal does not agree to perform energy-saving operations for the first session, the first device will not initiate energy-saving operations. In this case, the feedback information may include only the fifth instruction, or it may include both the fifth and sixth instruction. Optionally, after determining that it will not initiate energy-saving operations, the first device may send the aforementioned notification information to the terminal again after a set time has elapsed.

[0220] Scenario C: The feedback method corresponding to the notification method at the QoS flow granularity.

[0221] This situation C corresponds to situation three in step 202 above.

[0222] In this situation, the feedback information sent by the terminal includes an eighth indication message and / or a ninth indication message. The eighth indication message is used to indicate to the terminal that it agrees to perform energy-saving operations on the first QoS stream of the first session, or to indicate to the terminal that it disagrees with performing energy-saving operations on the first QoS stream of the first session. The ninth indication message is used to indicate that the terminal has received a notification message.

[0223] Optionally, the feedback information may also include identification information of the first QoS flow. Optionally, in addition to including the first QoS flow, the feedback information may also include identification information of the terminal and / or identification information of the first session.

[0224] In response to this situation, after receiving feedback information, the first device can determine whether to initiate energy-saving operations based on the content carried in the feedback information, that is, whether to initiate network-side QoS flow-level energy-saving operations. These network-side QoS flow-level energy-saving operations include, for example, 1) the network adjusting the QoS parameters of the first QoS flow, such as increasing the packet delay budget (PDB), packet error rate (PER), allocation and retention priority (ARP) corresponding to the first QoS flow, or decreasing the maximum data burst volume (MDBV) of the first QoS flow. 2) the network rate-limiting the data corresponding to the first QoS flow.

[0225] For example, if the feedback information includes an eighth indication message, and the eighth indication message is used to instruct the terminal to agree to power-saving operations for the first QoS flow, the first device initiates a power-saving operation. In this case, the feedback information may include only the eighth indication message, or it may include both the eighth and ninth indication messages.

[0226] For example, if the feedback information includes the ninth instruction information, the first device initiates an energy-saving operation.

[0227] For example, if the feedback information includes an eighth indication message, and the eighth indication message indicates that the terminal does not agree to perform power-saving operation for the first QoS flow, the first device will not initiate power-saving operation. In this case, the feedback information may include only the eighth indication message, or it may include both the eighth and ninth indication messages. Optionally, after determining that it will not initiate power-saving operation, the first device may send the aforementioned notification information to the terminal again after a set time has elapsed.

[0228] Based on this scheme, the terminal sends feedback information to the network side, which can then determine whether to enable energy-saving operation based on the feedback information sent by the terminal. This helps to improve energy-saving performance and thus enhance the service experience.

[0229] The embodiment of FIG2 will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG3 to FIG5 are examples of the embodiments of FIG2. In the following embodiments, the first session in the embodiment of FIG2 is an example of a PDU session.

[0230] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. The method includes the following steps:

[0231] Step 300a: The terminal sends its capability information to the AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the terminal's capability information.

[0232] This capability information is used to instruct the terminal to support adjusting energy-saving parameters and / or support energy-saving feedback.

[0233] For example, the terminal can send capability information to the AMF by carrying the capability information in the registration request message of the registration process or in the service request message of the service request process.

[0234] In step 300b, the AMF sends the terminal's capability information to the SMF. Correspondingly, the SMF receives the terminal's capability information.

[0235] For example, in the PDU session establishment process, the AMF provides the SMF with the terminal's capability information.

[0236] Steps 300a and 300b are optional.

[0237] Step 301: SMF determines the first power consumption corresponding to the terminal.

[0238] The first power consumption can be the power consumption of the terminal, the power consumption of a certain PDU session of the terminal (hereinafter, the first PDU session is taken as an example), or the power consumption of a certain QoS stream of a certain PDU session of the terminal (hereinafter, the first QoS stream of the first session is taken as an example).

[0239] For example, the method for determining the first power consumption is described below.

[0240] In scenario one, the first power consumption is the power consumption of the terminal.

[0241] For example, the power consumption of the terminal can be the sum of the power consumption of all PDU sessions of the terminal.

[0242] For example, for each PDU session of the terminal (taking the first PDU session as an example below), the SMF determines the access network device and UPF corresponding to the first PDU session, and then sends the identifier of the access network device and the identifier of the UPF corresponding to the first PDU session to the network management system. The network management system sends the total power consumption of the access network device and the total power consumption of the UPF to the SMF, as well as the total data transmission volume of the access network device and the total data transmission volume of the UPF. The SMF obtains the total data transmission volume of the first PDU session on the access network device and the total data transmission volume of the first PDU session on the UPF from the network management system or other network elements. Then, the SMF determines the power consumption of the first PDU session = (total data transmission volume of the first PDU session on the access network device / total data transmission volume of the access network device * total power consumption of the access network device) + (total data transmission volume of the first PDU session on the UPF / total data transmission volume of the UPF * total power consumption of the UPF). Then, the SMF adds the power consumption of each PDU session of the terminal to obtain the power consumption of the terminal, i.e., the first power consumption. Here, " / " represents division, "*" represents multiplication, and "+" represents addition. This is explained uniformly here and will not be elaborated on later.

[0243] The following example illustrates this. Assume there are three PDU sessions on the terminal: PDU session #1, PDU session #2, and PDU session #3. PDU session #1 corresponds to access network device #1 and UPF #1, PDU session #2 corresponds to access network device #2 and UPF #2, and PDU session #3 corresponds to access network device #3 and UPF #3. Access network device #1, access network device #2, and access network device #3 can be the same access network device or different access network devices. Similarly, UPF #1, UPF #2, and UPF #3 can be the same UPF or different UPFs.

[0244] The access network device corresponding to the PDU session can also be referred to as the access network device providing services for the PDU session, or the access network device used to transmit data for the PDU session. Similarly, the UPF corresponding to the PDU session can also be referred to as the UPF providing services for the PDU session, or the UPF used to transmit data for the PDU session.

[0245] The power consumption of these three PDU sessions can be calculated using the following formulas:

[0246] Power consumption of PDU session #1 = Total data transmission of PDU session #1 on access network device #1 / Total data transmission of access network device #1 * Total power consumption of access network device #1 + Total data transmission of PDU session #1 on UPF #1 / Total data transmission of UPF #1 * Total power consumption of UPF #1;

[0247] Power consumption of PDU session #2 = Total data transmission of PDU session #2 on access network device #2 / Total data transmission of access network device #2 * Total power consumption of access network device #2 + Total data transmission of PDU session #2 on UPF #2 / Total data transmission of UPF #2 * Total power consumption of UPF #2;

[0248] Power consumption of PDU session #3 = Total data transmission of PDU session #3 on access network device #3 / Total data transmission of access network device #3 * Total power consumption of access network device #3 + Total data transmission of PDU session #3 on UPF #3 / Total data transmission of UPF #3 * Total power consumption of UPF #3.

[0249] Therefore, the power consumption of the terminal = power consumption of PDU session #1 + power consumption of PDU session #2 + power consumption of PDU session #3.

[0250] In scenario two, the first power consumption is the power consumption of the terminal's first PDU session.

[0251] For the first PDU session of the terminal, the SMF determines the access network device and UPF corresponding to the first PDU session, and then sends the identifier of the access network device and the identifier of the UPF to the network management system. The network management system sends the total power consumption of the access network device and the total power consumption of the UPF to the SMF, as well as the total data transmission volume of the access network device and the total data transmission volume of the UPF. The SMF obtains the total data transmission volume of the first PDU session on the access network device and the total data transmission volume of the first PDU session on the UPF from the network management system or other network elements. Then, the SMF determines the power consumption of the first PDU session as: (Total data transmission volume of the first PDU session on the access network device / Total data transmission volume of the access network device * Total power consumption of the access network device) + (Total data transmission volume of the first PDU session on the UPF / Total data transmission volume of the UPF * Total power consumption of the UPF).

[0252] The following example illustrates this. Taking terminal PDU session #1 as an example, the power consumption of PDU session #1 = total data transmission volume of PDU session #1 on the access network device / total data transmission volume of the access network device * total power consumption of the access network device + total data transmission volume of PDU session #1 on the UPF / total data transmission volume of the UPF * total power consumption of the UPF.

[0253] Scenario 3: The first power consumption is the power consumption of the first QoS stream of the first PDU session of the terminal.

[0254] For the first QoS flow of the first PDU session of the terminal, the SMF determines the access network device and UPF corresponding to the first QoS flow, and then sends the identifier of the access network device and the identifier of the UPF corresponding to the first QoS flow to the network management system. The network management system sends the total power consumption of the access network device and the total power consumption of the UPF to the SMF, as well as the total data transmission volume of the access network device and the total data transmission volume of the UPF. The SMF obtains the total data transmission volume of the first QoS flow on the access network device and the total data transmission volume of the first QoS flow on the UPF from the network management system or other network elements. Then, the SMF determines the power consumption of the first QoS flow as: (Total data transmission volume of the first QoS flow on the access network device / Total data transmission volume of the access network device * Total power consumption of the access network device) + (Total data transmission volume of the first QoS flow on the UPF / Total data transmission volume of the UPF * Total power consumption of the UPF).

[0255] The following example illustrates this. Taking QoS flow #1 of PDU session #1 in the terminal as an example, the power consumption of QoS flow #1 = (total data transmission of QoS flow #1 on the access network device / total data transmission of the access network device * total power consumption of the access network device) + (total data transmission of QoS flow #1 on the UPF / total data transmission of the UPF * total power consumption of the UPF).

[0256] Step 302: SMF determines whether the first power consumption exceeds the power consumption limit.

[0257] When the first power consumption is the power consumption of the terminal, the upper limit of this power consumption refers to the upper limit of the power consumption of the corresponding terminal.

[0258] When the first power consumption refers to the power consumption of the first PDU session of the terminal, the upper limit of power consumption refers to the upper limit of power consumption corresponding to the first PDU session of the terminal. Different PDU sessions of the same terminal each correspond to a different upper limit of power consumption, and the upper limit of power consumption corresponding to different PDU sessions of the same terminal can be the same or different.

[0259] When the first power consumption refers to the power consumption of the terminal's first QoS stream, the upper limit of power consumption refers to the upper limit of power consumption corresponding to the terminal's first QoS stream. Different QoS streams of the same terminal each correspond to a different upper limit of power consumption, and these upper limits can be the same or different.

[0260] For example, the SMF obtains the power consumption ceiling value according to the following method:

[0261] Method 1: SMF obtains the power consumption limit value from UDM.

[0262] Method 2: SMF obtains the power consumption upper limit value from AMF.

[0263] If SMF determines that the first power consumption exceeds the power consumption limit, it determines that power-saving operations need to be performed on the terminal, the terminal's first PDU session, or the terminal's first QoS stream.

[0264] In step 302a, if the SMF determines that the first power consumption exceeds the upper limit value, it sends power-saving information to the PCF. Accordingly, the PCF receives the power-saving information.

[0265] For example, this energy-saving information can be carried in the Npcf_SMPolicyUpdate message.

[0266] Step 302a is an optional step.

[0267] If SMF determines that the first power consumption exceeds the upper limit of power consumption, it further determines the energy-saving granularity to be used. The specific determination method can be referred to the description in step 201 above.

[0268] For example, if the SMF determines to perform a terminal-level power-saving operation, the SMF can send power-saving information to the PCF, which triggers the PCF to perform the terminal-level power-saving operation. This power-saving information includes the terminal's identification information. Optionally, the power-saving information may also include information indicating that a power-saving operation needs to be performed on the terminal.

[0269] For example, if the SMF determines to perform a session-level power-saving operation, the SMF can send power-saving information to the PCF, which triggers the PCF to perform a PDU session-level power-saving operation. This power-saving information includes identification information of the first PDU session requiring power saving. Optionally, the power-saving information also includes identification information of the terminal. Optionally, the power-saving information also includes information indicating that a power-saving operation needs to be performed for the first PDU session.

[0270] For example, if the SMF determines to perform a QoS flow-level energy-saving operation, the SMF sends energy-saving information to the PCF, which triggers the PCF to perform the QoS flow-level energy-saving operation. This energy-saving information includes identification information of the first QoS flow that needs energy saving. Optionally, the energy-saving information also includes identification information of the terminal and identification information of the PDU session to which the first QoS flow belongs. Optionally, the energy-saving information also includes information indicating to the network that it needs to perform an energy-saving operation for the first QoS flow.

[0271] Optionally, if the PCF receives the energy-saving information, the PCF can perform energy-saving operations on the terminal, the terminal's first PDU session, or the terminal's first QoS flow based on the energy-saving information. This application does not limit the implementation method of the PCF performing energy-saving operations.

[0272] Optionally, if the PCF receives the energy-saving information, the PCF can send the energy-saving information to the AF. After receiving the energy-saving information, the AF can adjust the terminal's energy-saving parameters through the application layer to achieve energy saving.

[0273] Optionally, after receiving the energy-saving information, the PCF or AF may temporarily refrain from performing energy-saving operations and instead wait for feedback information from the terminal. Based on this feedback information, the PCF or AF may determine whether to perform energy-saving operations. The meaning of the feedback information can be found in the description of step 204 above.

[0274] In one possible implementation, if the SMF receives capability information from the terminal, and the capability information indicates that the terminal supports adjusting energy-saving parameters and / or supports energy-saving feedback, then step 303 and subsequent steps are executed. If the SMF receives capability information from the terminal, and the capability information indicates that the terminal does not support adjusting energy-saving parameters and / or does not support energy-saving feedback, then step 303 and subsequent steps may not be executed.

[0275] Step 303: If it is determined that the first power consumption exceeds the upper limit value, the SMF sends a notification message to the AMF. Accordingly, the AMF receives the notification message.

[0276] For the meaning of this notification, please refer to the description in step 302a.

[0277] For example, the notification information can be carried in an N1N2 message transfer message.

[0278] Step 304: After receiving the notification information, if the terminal is in an idle state, the AMF caches the notification information that needs to be sent to the terminal.

[0279] Step 304 is optional. If the terminal is in an idle state, step 304 is executed; if the terminal is in a connected state, step 304 is skipped and step 305 and subsequent steps are executed.

[0280] If the terminal is in an idle state, the AMF can page the terminal, putting it into a connected state. For example, when the AMF receives a notification, it caches the notification and begins pager on the terminal simultaneously. This can be understood as the AMF receiving or caching the notification and then starting pager after a very short interval. Another example is when the AMF receives downlink data that needs to be sent to the terminal; it then begins pager, and the notification and downlink data can be sent together. Yet another example is when the AMF receives or caches a notification and then starts pager after a preset interval. This preset interval is pre-configured in the AMF or can be sent to the AMF by the terminal, SMF, or PCF.

[0281] Step 305: The AMF sends a notification message to the terminal. The terminal then receives the notification message.

[0282] For the meaning of this notification information and different implementation methods, please refer to the description in step 202 above.

[0283] For example, the notification information can be carried in a downlink NAS message transfer (DLNASmessagetransfer) message.

[0284] In one implementation, the SMF encapsulates the notification information in a session management container (N1SMcontainer), and the AMF transparently transmits the session management container to the terminal, for example, by sending the session management container to the terminal along with a downlink NAS message transmission message. The AMF does not parse the contents of the session management container.

[0285] In another implementation, the SMF sends the notification information to the AMF, which encapsulates the notification information in a session management container and sends the session management container to the terminal, for example, by carrying the session management container in a downlink NAS message transmission message. The AMF can then obtain the content of the notification information.

[0286] Step 306: The terminal performs energy-saving operations based on the notification information.

[0287] For the method of implementing energy-saving operation on the terminal, please refer to the description of step 203 above.

[0288] Steps 307 to 310 are all optional.

[0289] Step 307: The terminal sends feedback information to the AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the feedback information.

[0290] This feedback information is a response to the received notification. For different implementation methods of this feedback information, please refer to the description in step 204 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0291] For example, this feedback information can be carried in an uplink NAS message transfer (ULNAS message transfer), a UE configuration update complete message, or a registration complete message, etc.

[0292] In step 308, the AMF sends feedback information to the SMF. Correspondingly, the SMF receives the feedback information.

[0293] For different methods of implementing this feedback information, please refer to the description in step 204 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0294] For example, this feedback information can be carried in a Session Management Context Update (NamfSMcontextupdate) message.

[0295] Step 309: The SMF sends feedback information to the PCF. Correspondingly, the PCF receives the feedback information.

[0296] For different methods of implementing this feedback information, please refer to the description in step 204 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0297] Step 309 is an optional step.

[0298] For example, this feedback information can be carried in a session management policy update (Npcf_SMpolicyupdate) message.

[0299] In one implementation method, when feedback information is used to indicate that the terminal agrees to energy-saving operation and / or the terminal has received notification information, the PCF generates a corresponding energy-saving policy based on the feedback information, and then the PCF sends the energy-saving policy to the SMF. Optionally, if step 302a above is performed, the PCF can combine energy-saving information to generate energy-saving policies at the terminal granularity, session granularity, or QoS flow granularity when generating the energy-saving policy.

[0300] In another implementation method, when the feedback information is used to indicate that the terminal does not agree to the energy-saving operation, the PCF does not generate the corresponding energy-saving strategy based on the feedback information.

[0301] Step 310: SMF initiates power-saving operations for the terminal, the terminal's first PDU session, or the terminal's first QoS stream.

[0302] In one implementation, if the SMF does not receive feedback information, the SMF can decide to initiate energy-saving operations.

[0303] In another implementation, if the SMF receives feedback information indicating that the terminal agrees to the energy-saving operation and / or indicates that a notification information has been received, the SMF can decide to initiate the energy-saving operation.

[0304] When the SMF determines to initiate energy-saving operation, the SMF can initiate energy-saving operation for the terminal, the terminal's first PDU session, or the terminal's first QoS flow based on the energy-saving policy from the PCF or based on the locally configured energy-saving policy.

[0305] In another implementation, if the SMF receives feedback information indicating that the terminal does not agree to the power-saving operation, the SMF can decide not to initiate power-saving operations for the terminal, the terminal's first PDU session, and the terminal's first QoS flow.

[0306] It should be noted that the SMF in this embodiment can be replaced with EECF, NEF, or other network elements. Accordingly, the aforementioned SMF-related messages are replaced with messages related to EECF, NEF, or other network elements.

[0307] Based on the above scheme, if the network side decides to initiate energy-saving operations for the terminal, it will notify the terminal that the network needs to perform energy-saving operations for the terminal. In this way, the terminal can accurately know that the network needs to perform energy-saving operations for the terminal, and then the terminal can make preparations related to network energy saving in advance, or the terminal can participate in energy saving, or the terminal can provide feedback to the network whether the terminal agrees to energy saving, etc., which helps to improve the energy-saving effect.

[0308] Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. The method includes the following steps:

[0309] Step 400a: The terminal sends its capability information to the AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the terminal's capability information.

[0310] This capability information is used to instruct the terminal to support adjusting energy-saving parameters and / or support energy-saving feedback.

[0311] For example, the terminal can send capability information to the AMF by carrying the capability information in the registration request message of the registration process or in the service request message of the service request process.

[0312] In step 400b, the AMF sends the terminal's capability information to the EECF. Correspondingly, the EECF receives the terminal's capability information.

[0313] For example, during the registration process, the AMF provides the EECF with the terminal's capability information.

[0314] Steps 400a and 400b are optional.

[0315] Step 401, SMF determines the first power consumption corresponding to the terminal.

[0316] Step 401 is the same as step 301 in the embodiment of FIG3 described above, and can be referred to the foregoing description.

[0317] Step 402, SMF determines whether the first power consumption exceeds the power consumption limit.

[0318] Step 402 is the same as step 302 in the embodiment of FIG3 described above, and can be referred to the foregoing description.

[0319] Step 403: SMF obtains the address information of EECF.

[0320] When the SMF determines that the first power consumption exceeds the upper limit of power consumption, it obtains the address information of the EECF.

[0321] For example, the SMF obtains the terminal's subscription information by interacting with the UDM, which includes the EECF's address information.

[0322] For example, SMF interacts with NRF to obtain EECF address information.

[0323] In step 404, if the SMF determines that the first power consumption exceeds the upper limit value, it sends an indication message to the EECF. Accordingly, the EECF receives the indication message.

[0324] This indication information is used to indicate that the terminal's first power consumption exceeds the corresponding power consumption limit value. Alternatively, this indication information indicates that the terminal's first PDU session's first power consumption exceeds the corresponding power consumption limit value. Or, this indication information indicates that the terminal's first QoS stream's first power consumption exceeds the corresponding power consumption limit value.

[0325] For example, the SMF can send indication information to the EECF using any of the following methods:

[0326] Method a: SMF sends indication information to PCF, and PCF sends indication information to EECF.

[0327] Method b: The SMF sends indication information to the EECF through the interface between the SMF and the EECF.

[0328] In step 404a, the EECF determines that an energy-saving operation needs to be performed on the terminal, the terminal's first PDU session, or the terminal's first QoS stream.

[0329] In one implementation method, if the indication information from the SMF indicates that the terminal's first power consumption exceeds the terminal's corresponding power consumption upper limit, then the EECF selects a terminal-level power saving operation based on the indication information, i.e., determines that a power saving operation needs to be performed for the terminal; or selects a session-level power saving operation, i.e., determines that a power saving operation needs to be performed for the terminal's first PDU session; or selects a QoS flow-level power saving operation, i.e., determines that a power saving operation needs to be performed for the terminal's first QoS flow. Regarding how the EECF determines the power saving granularity to use, refer to the various implementation methods in the first scenario of step 201 above.

[0330] In one implementation method, if the indication information from the SMF indicates that the first power consumption of the terminal's first PDU session exceeds the power consumption limit value corresponding to the PDU session, then the EECF selects a session-level power-saving operation based on the indication information, that is, determines that a power-saving operation needs to be performed for the terminal's first PDU session, or selects a QoS flow-level power-saving operation, that is, determines that a power-saving operation needs to be performed for the terminal's first QoS flow. Regarding how the EECF determines the power-saving granularity to use, refer to the various implementation methods under the second scenario in step 201 above.

[0331] In one implementation method, if the indication information from the SMF indicates that the first power consumption of the first QoS stream of the terminal exceeds the power consumption upper limit value corresponding to the QoS stream, then the EECF selects the power saving operation at the QoS stream granularity according to the indication information, that is, determines that the power saving operation for the first QoS stream of the terminal needs to be performed.

[0332] In one possible implementation, if the EECF receives the terminal's capability information and determines that the terminal supports adjusting energy-saving parameters and / or supports energy-saving feedback, then step 405 and subsequent steps are executed. If the EECF receives the terminal's capability information and determines that the terminal does not support adjusting energy-saving parameters and / or does not support energy-saving feedback, then step 405 and subsequent steps may not be executed.

[0333] In step 404b, the EECF sends energy-saving information to the PCF. Correspondingly, the PCF receives the energy-saving information.

[0334] This step is optional.

[0335] For the meaning of this energy-saving information and the different implementation methods, please refer to the description in step 302a above.

[0336] Optionally, if the PCF receives the energy-saving information, the PCF can perform energy-saving operations on the terminal, the terminal's first PDU session, or the terminal's first QoS flow based on the energy-saving information. This application does not limit the implementation method of the PCF performing energy-saving operations.

[0337] Optionally, if the PCF receives the energy-saving information, the PCF can send the energy-saving information to the AF. After receiving the energy-saving information, the AF can adjust the terminal's energy-saving parameters through the application layer to achieve energy saving.

[0338] Optionally, after receiving the energy-saving information, the PCF or AF may temporarily refrain from performing energy-saving operations and instead wait for feedback information from the terminal. Based on this feedback information, the PCF or AF may determine whether to perform energy-saving operations. The meaning of the feedback information can be found in the description of step 204 above.

[0339] In step 405, the EECF sends a notification message to the AMF. The AMF then receives the notification message.

[0340] For the meaning of this notification information and different implementation methods, please refer to the description in step 202 above.

[0341] For example, the notification information can be carried in the N1N2 message transmission message.

[0342] For example, the EECF can send notification information to the AMF using any of the following methods:

[0343] Method a: EECF sends a notification message to SMF, and SMF sends a notification message to AMF.

[0344] Method b: EECF sends a notification message to PCF, and PCF sends a notification message to AMF.

[0345] Method c: EECF sends a notification message to PCF, PCF sends a notification message to SMF, and SMF sends a notification message to AMF.

[0346] Method d: EECF sends notification information to AMF through the interface between EECF and AMF.

[0347] Steps 406 to 409 are the same as steps 304 to 307 in the embodiment of Figure 3.

[0348] Steps 406 to 409 are all optional.

[0349] Steps 410 to 412 are optional. In step 410, the AMF sends feedback information to the EECF. Accordingly, the EECF receives the feedback information.

[0350] For different methods of implementing this feedback information, please refer to the description in step 204 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0351] In step 411, the EECF sends feedback information to the PCF. Correspondingly, the PCF receives the feedback information.

[0352] For example, this feedback information can be carried in a management policy update message.

[0353] This feedback information can trigger the PCF to generate a corresponding energy-saving strategy, which is then sent from the PCF to the EECF.

[0354] Step 412, EECF initiates power-saving operation for the terminal, the terminal's first PDU session, or the terminal's first QoS stream.

[0355] In one implementation, if the EECF does not receive feedback information, the EECF can decide to initiate energy-saving operations.

[0356] In another implementation, if the EECF receives feedback information indicating that the terminal agrees to the energy-saving operation and / or indicates that a notification information has been received, the EECF can decide to initiate the energy-saving operation.

[0357] Specifically, when the EECF determines to initiate energy-saving operations, the EECF can initiate energy-saving operations for the terminal, the terminal's first PDU session, or the terminal's first QoS flow based on the energy-saving policy from the PCF or based on the locally configured energy-saving policy. Alternatively, based on the determination in step 404a, the EECF decides to perform energy-saving operations for the PDU session with higher power consumption in the terminal, or for the QoS flow with higher power consumption in the terminal's first PDU session, or for the service flow with higher power consumption in the terminal's first QoS flow.

[0358] In another implementation, if the EECF receives feedback indicating that the terminal does not agree to the power-saving operation, the EECF can decide not to initiate power-saving operations for the terminal, the terminal's first PDU session, and the terminal's first QoS flow.

[0359] It should be noted that the SMF in this embodiment can be replaced by the NEF or other network elements. Accordingly, the messages related to the SMF are replaced with messages related to the NEF or other network elements, and the actions performed by the SMF can be replaced by those performed by the NEF or other network elements. Alternatively, the SMF in this embodiment can also be replaced by the EECF. In this case, the actions related to the interaction between the SMF and the EECF in the embodiment of Figure 4 can be omitted, and the actions performed by the SMF can be replaced by those performed by the EECF.

[0360] Based on the above scheme, if the network side decides to initiate energy-saving operations for the terminal, it will notify the terminal that the network needs to perform energy-saving operations for the terminal. In this way, the terminal can accurately know that the network needs to perform energy-saving operations for the terminal, and then the terminal can make preparations related to network energy saving in advance, or the terminal can participate in energy saving, or the terminal can provide feedback to the network whether the terminal agrees to energy saving, etc., which helps to improve the energy-saving effect.

[0361] Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. The method includes the following steps:

[0362] In step 500a, the terminal sends its capability information to the AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the terminal's capability information.

[0363] This capability information is used to instruct the terminal to support adjusting energy-saving parameters and / or support energy-saving feedback.

[0364] For example, the terminal can send capability information to the AMF by carrying the capability information in the registration request message of the registration process or in the service request message of the service request process.

[0365] In step 500b, the AMF sends the terminal's capability information to the CHF. Correspondingly, the CHF receives the terminal's capability information.

[0366] For example, in the PDU session establishment process, the AMF provides the terminal's capability information to the SMF, and then the SMF provides the terminal's capability information to the PCF.

[0367] Steps 500a and 500b are optional.

[0368] Step 501: CHF determines the first power consumption corresponding to the terminal.

[0369] The CHF can receive the first power consumption of the terminal from the SMF. The method by which the SMF determines the first power consumption of the terminal can be referred to the description of step 301 in the embodiment of FIG3 above.

[0370] Alternatively, CHF can receive the terminal's first power consumption from the network management system. The method by which the network management system determines the terminal's first power consumption is similar to the method used by SMF to determine the terminal's first power consumption.

[0371] Step 502: CHF determines whether the first power consumption exceeds the power consumption limit.

[0372] The method by which the CHF determines whether the first power consumption exceeds the upper limit of power consumption is similar to the method by which the SMF determines whether the first power consumption exceeds the upper limit of power consumption in step 302 of the embodiment in Figure 3 above, and can be referred to the above description.

[0373] For example, CHF obtains the upper limit of power consumption according to the following method:

[0374] Method 1: CHF obtains the power consumption limit value from SMF, AMF, or PCF. For example, in the PDU session establishment process, CHF obtains the power consumption limit value from SMF, AMF, or PCF.

[0375] Method 2: The operator pre-configures a power consumption limit for CHF.

[0376] In step 503, if the CHF determines that the first power consumption exceeds the upper limit value, it sends an indication message to the PCF. Accordingly, the PCF receives the indication message.

[0377] This indication information is used to indicate that the terminal's first power consumption exceeds the corresponding power consumption limit value. Alternatively, this indication information indicates that the terminal's first PDU session exceeds the corresponding power consumption limit value. Or, this indication information indicates that the terminal's first QoS stream exceeds the corresponding power consumption limit value.

[0378] For example, this indication information can be carried in an energy consumption notification message.

[0379] Step 504, PCF determines that power-saving operations need to be performed on the terminal, the terminal's first PDU session, or the terminal's first QoS stream.

[0380] The PCF receives an instruction from the CHF, which triggers the PCF to determine whether energy-saving operations need to be performed.

[0381] In one implementation method, if the indication information from the CHF indicates that the terminal's first power consumption exceeds the terminal's corresponding power consumption upper limit, then the PCF selects a terminal-level energy-saving operation based on the indication information, i.e., determines that a power-saving operation needs to be performed for the terminal; or selects a session-level energy-saving operation, i.e., determines that a power-saving operation needs to be performed for the terminal's first PDU session; or selects a QoS flow-level energy-saving operation, i.e., determines that a power-saving operation needs to be performed for the terminal's first QoS flow. Regarding how the PCF determines the energy-saving granularity to use, refer to the various implementation methods in the first scenario of step 201 above.

[0382] In one implementation method, if the indication information from the CHF indicates that the first power consumption of the terminal's first PDU session exceeds the power consumption limit value corresponding to the PDU session, then the PCF selects a session-level power-saving operation based on the indication information, that is, determines that a power-saving operation needs to be performed for the terminal's first PDU session, or selects a QoS flow-level power-saving operation, that is, determines that a power-saving operation needs to be performed for the terminal's first QoS flow. Regarding how the PCF determines the power-saving granularity to use, refer to the various implementation methods under the second scenario in step 201 above.

[0383] In one implementation method, if the indication information from CHF indicates that the first power consumption of the first QoS stream of the terminal exceeds the power consumption upper limit value corresponding to the QoS stream, then PCF selects the power saving operation at the QoS stream granularity according to the indication information, that is, determines that the power saving operation for the first QoS stream of the terminal needs to be performed.

[0384] It should be noted that after determining that power-saving operations need to be performed on the terminal, the terminal's first PDU session, or the terminal's first QoS flow, the PCF can either begin performing the corresponding power-saving operation or temporarily refrain from performing the operation and wait to receive feedback information from the terminal, and then determine whether to perform the power-saving operation based on the feedback information. The meaning of the feedback information can be found in the description of step 204 above.

[0385] In one possible implementation, if the PCF receives the terminal's capability information and determines that the terminal supports adjusting energy-saving parameters and / or supports energy-saving feedback, then step 505 and subsequent steps are executed. If the PCF receives the terminal's capability information and determines that the terminal does not support adjusting energy-saving parameters and / or does not support energy-saving feedback, then step 505 and subsequent steps may not be executed.

[0386] Step 505: The PCF sends a notification message to the SMF. Correspondingly, the SMF receives the notification message.

[0387] For the meaning of this notification information and different implementation methods, please refer to the description in step 202 above.

[0388] For example, the notification information can be carried in a session management policy update message.

[0389] Step 506: The SMF sends a notification message to the AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the notification message.

[0390] For the meaning of this notification information and different implementation methods, please refer to the description in step 202 above.

[0391] For example, the notification information can be carried in the N1N2 message transmission message.

[0392] Steps 507 to 510 are the same as steps 304 to 307 in the embodiment of Figure 3.

[0393] Steps 507 to 510 are all optional.

[0394] Steps 511 to 513 are all optional.

[0395] Step 511: The AMF sends feedback information to the CHF. Correspondingly, the CHF receives the feedback information.

[0396] For different methods of implementing this feedback information, please refer to the description in step 204 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0397] Among them, the AMF can send feedback information to the CHF through the SMF, or it can send feedback information to the CHF through both the SMF and the PCF.

[0398] In step 512, the CHF sends feedback information to the PCF. Correspondingly, the PCF receives the feedback information.

[0399] Step 512 is an optional step.

[0400] For example, this feedback information can be carried in a session management policy update message.

[0401] This feedback information can trigger the PCF to generate a corresponding energy-saving strategy, which is then sent from the PCF to the CHF.

[0402] Step 513, CHF initiates power-saving operations for the terminal, the terminal's first PDU session, or the terminal's first QoS stream.

[0403] In one implementation, if the CHF does not receive feedback information, the CHF can decide to initiate energy-saving operations.

[0404] In another implementation, if the CHF receives feedback information indicating that the terminal agrees to the energy-saving operation and / or indicates that a notification information has been received, the CHF can decide to initiate the energy-saving operation.

[0405] Specifically, when the CHF determines to initiate energy-saving operations, the CHF can initiate energy-saving operations for the terminal, the terminal's first PDU session, or the terminal's first QoS flow based on the energy-saving policy from the PCF or based on the locally configured energy-saving policy. Alternatively, the PCF can decide, based on the judgment in step 504, to perform energy-saving operations for the PDU session with higher power consumption in the terminal, or for the QoS flow with higher power consumption in the terminal's first PDU session, or for the service flow with higher power consumption in the terminal's first QoS flow.

[0406] Another implementation method is that if the CHF receives feedback information indicating that the terminal does not agree to the power-saving operation, the CHF can decide not to initiate power-saving operations for the terminal, the terminal's first PDU session, and the terminal's first QoS stream.

[0407] Based on the above scheme, if the network side decides to initiate energy-saving operations for the terminal, it will notify the terminal that the network needs to perform energy-saving operations for the terminal. In this way, the terminal can accurately know that the network needs to perform energy-saving operations for the terminal, and then the terminal can make preparations related to network energy saving in advance, or the terminal can participate in energy saving, or the terminal can provide feedback to the network whether the terminal agrees to energy saving, etc., which helps to improve the energy-saving effect.

[0408] Figure 6 illustrates a possible exemplary block diagram of the communication device involved in the embodiments of this application. The communication device 600 shown in Figure 6 may include modules or units for implementing the method embodiments described above. In one possible design, the communication device 600 includes a processing unit 602 and a communication unit 603. Optionally, the communication device 600 may further include a storage unit 601 for storing device program code and / or data.

[0409] The communication device 600 can also be a network-side device in the above embodiments, such as a first device on the network side, a module (e.g., a circuit, chip, or chip system) in the first device, or a logic node, logic module, or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the first device.

[0410] For example, in one embodiment, the processing unit 602 is used to determine whether an energy-saving operation needs to be performed on the terminal; the processing unit 602 is also used to send a notification message to the terminal through the communication unit 603 when an energy-saving operation needs to be performed on the terminal, the notification message being used to instruct the network to perform an energy-saving operation on the terminal.

[0411] In one possible implementation, the notification information includes the terminal's identification information.

[0412] In one possible implementation, the notification information further includes first indication information, which is used to instruct the network to perform energy-saving operations on the terminal; or, the name of the notification information is used to instruct the network to perform energy-saving operations on the terminal.

[0413] In one possible implementation, the communication unit 603 is further configured to receive feedback information from the terminal, the feedback information including second indication information and / or third indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate that the terminal agrees to perform energy-saving operation on the terminal, or to indicate that the terminal does not agree to perform energy-saving operation on the terminal, and the third indication information being used to indicate that the terminal has received the notification information.

[0414] In one possible implementation, the processing unit 602 is further configured to initiate a power-saving operation when the feedback information includes the second indication information and the second indication information indicates that the terminal agrees to perform a power-saving operation on the terminal; or, the processing unit 602 is further configured to initiate a power-saving operation when the feedback information includes the third indication information; or, the processing unit 602 is further configured not to initiate a power-saving operation when the feedback information includes the second indication information and the second indication information indicates that the terminal does not agree to perform a power-saving operation on the terminal.

[0415] In one possible implementation, the processing unit 602 is used to determine whether an energy-saving operation needs to be performed on the terminal, including: determining that an energy-saving operation needs to be performed on the terminal when the power consumption of the terminal exceeds the power consumption upper limit value corresponding to the terminal.

[0416] In one possible implementation, the notification information includes identification information of the terminal's first session.

[0417] In one possible implementation, the notification information further includes fourth indication information, which is used to instruct the network to perform energy-saving operations for the first session; or, the name of the notification information is used to instruct the network to perform energy-saving operations for the first session.

[0418] In one possible implementation, the communication unit 603 is further configured to receive feedback information from the terminal, the feedback information including fifth indication information and / or sixth indication information, the fifth indication information being used to indicate that the terminal agrees to perform energy-saving operation for the first session, or to indicate that the terminal does not agree to perform energy-saving operation for the first session, and the sixth indication information being used to indicate that the terminal has received the notification information.

[0419] In one possible implementation, the processing unit 602 is further configured to initiate a power-saving operation when the feedback information includes the fifth indication information and the fifth indication information is used to indicate that the terminal agrees to perform a power-saving operation for the first session; or, the processing unit 602 is further configured to initiate a power-saving operation when the feedback information includes the sixth indication information; or, the processing unit 602 is further configured not to initiate a power-saving operation when the feedback information includes the fifth indication information and the fifth indication information is used to indicate that the terminal does not agree to perform a power-saving operation for the first session.

[0420] In one possible implementation, the processing unit 602 is used to determine whether a power-saving operation needs to be performed on the terminal, including: determining that a power-saving operation needs to be performed on the first session when the power consumption of the first session exceeds the power consumption upper limit value corresponding to the first session.

[0421] In one possible implementation, the notification information includes identification information of the terminal's first quality of service flow.

[0422] In one possible implementation, the first quality of service flow belongs to the first session of the terminal, and the notification information also includes the identification information of the first session.

[0423] In one possible implementation, the notification information further includes a seventh indication, which indicates that the network needs to perform energy-saving operations on the first quality of service flow; or, the name of the notification information indicates that the network needs to perform energy-saving operations on the first quality of service flow.

[0424] In one possible implementation, the communication unit 603 is further configured to receive feedback information from the terminal, the feedback information including an eighth indication information and / or a ninth indication information, the eighth indication information being used to indicate that the terminal agrees to perform energy-saving operations on the first quality of service flow, or to indicate that the terminal does not agree to perform energy-saving operations on the first quality of service flow, and the ninth indication information being used to indicate that the terminal has received the notification information.

[0425] In one possible implementation, the processing unit 602 is further configured to initiate a power-saving operation when the feedback information includes the eighth indication information, and the eighth indication information is used to indicate that the terminal agrees to perform a power-saving operation for the first quality of service flow; or, the processing unit 602 is further configured to initiate a power-saving operation when the feedback information includes the ninth indication information; or, the processing unit 602 is further configured not to initiate a power-saving operation when the feedback information includes the eighth indication information, and the eighth indication information is used to indicate that the terminal does not agree to perform a power-saving operation for the first quality of service flow.

[0426] In one possible implementation, the processing unit 602 is configured to determine whether an energy-saving operation needs to be performed on the terminal, including: determining that an energy-saving operation needs to be performed on the first quality of service stream when the power consumption of the first quality of service stream exceeds the upper limit of the power consumption corresponding to the first quality of service stream.

[0427] In one possible implementation, the processing unit 602 is further configured to acquire capability information of the terminal before the communication unit 603 sends notification information to the terminal, the capability information being used to instruct the terminal to support adjusting energy-saving parameters and / or support energy-saving feedback; the communication unit 603 is configured to send notification information to the terminal, including: sending the notification information to the terminal based on the capability information.

[0428] The communication device 600 can be a terminal-side device as described in the above embodiments, such as a terminal or a communication module in a terminal, or a circuit or chip in a terminal that is responsible for communication functions.

[0429] For example, in one embodiment, a communication unit 603 is used to receive notification information, which instructs the network to perform energy-saving operations on the terminal; and a processing unit 602 is used to initiate energy-saving operations according to the notification information.

[0430] In one possible implementation, the notification information includes the terminal's identification information.

[0431] In one possible implementation, the notification information further includes first indication information, which instructs the network to perform power-saving operations on the terminal; or, the name of the notification information is used to instruct the network to perform power-saving operations on the terminal. In another possible implementation, the notification information includes identification information of the terminal's first session.

[0432] In one possible implementation, the notification information further includes fourth indication information, which is used to instruct the network to perform energy-saving operations for the first session; or, the name of the notification information is used to instruct the network to perform energy-saving operations for the first session.

[0433] In one possible implementation, the notification information includes identification information of the terminal's first quality of service flow.

[0434] In one possible implementation, the first quality of service flow belongs to the first session of the terminal, and the notification information also includes the identification information of the first session.

[0435] In one possible implementation, the notification information further includes a seventh indication, which indicates that the network needs to perform energy-saving operations on the first quality of service flow; or, the name of the notification information indicates that the network needs to perform energy-saving operations on the first quality of service flow.

[0436] For example, in another embodiment, the processing unit 602 is configured to receive notification information via the communication unit 603, the notification information being used to instruct the network to perform energy-saving operations on the terminal; and to send feedback information via the communication unit 603, the feedback information being used to instruct whether the terminal agrees to the energy-saving operation and / or to instruct the terminal that it has received the notification information.

[0437] In one possible implementation, the notification information includes the terminal's identification information.

[0438] In one possible implementation, the notification information further includes first indication information, which is used to instruct the network to perform energy-saving operations on the terminal; or, the name of the notification information is used to instruct the network to perform energy-saving operations on the terminal.

[0439] In one possible implementation, when the feedback information is used to indicate whether the terminal agrees to the energy-saving operation, the feedback information includes second indication information, which is used to indicate whether the terminal agrees to the energy-saving operation or to indicate whether the terminal disagrees with the energy-saving operation.

[0440] In one possible implementation, the notification information includes identification information of the terminal's first session.

[0441] In one possible implementation, the notification information further includes fourth indication information, which is used to instruct the network to perform energy-saving operations for the first session; or, the name of the notification information is used to instruct the network to perform energy-saving operations for the first session.

[0442] In one possible implementation, when the feedback information is used to indicate whether the terminal agrees to the energy-saving operation, the feedback information includes fifth indication information, which is used to indicate whether the terminal agrees to the energy-saving operation for the first session, or to indicate whether the terminal disagrees with the energy-saving operation for the first session.

[0443] In one possible implementation, the notification information includes identification information of the terminal's first quality of service flow.

[0444] In one possible implementation, the first quality of service flow belongs to the first session of the terminal, and the notification information also includes the identification information of the first session.

[0445] In one possible implementation, the notification information further includes a seventh indication, which indicates that the network needs to perform energy-saving operations on the first quality of service flow; or, the name of the notification information indicates that the network needs to perform energy-saving operations on the first quality of service flow.

[0446] In one possible implementation, when the feedback information is used to indicate whether the terminal agrees to the energy-saving operation, the feedback information includes an eighth indication information, which is used to indicate whether the terminal agrees to the energy-saving operation for the first quality of service flow, or to indicate whether the terminal disagrees with the energy-saving operation for the first quality of service flow.

[0447] In one possible implementation, the processing unit 602 is further configured to initiate an energy-saving operation based on the notification information.

[0448] In one possible implementation, the communication unit 603 is further configured to send capability information of the terminal before receiving notification information, the capability information being used to instruct the terminal to support adjusting energy-saving parameters and / or support energy-saving feedback.

[0449] In one possible design, when the communication device 600 is a terminal or a communication module within a terminal, the functionality of the processing unit 602 can be implemented by one or more processors. The processor may include a modem chip, or a system-on-a-chip (SoC) or SIP chip containing a modem core. The functionality of the communication unit 603 can be implemented by transceiver circuitry.

[0450] In one possible design, when the communication device 600 is a circuit or chip in a terminal responsible for communication functions, such as a modem chip or a system-on-a-chip (SoC) or SIP chip containing a modem core, the function of the processing unit 602 can be implemented by a circuit system in the aforementioned chip that includes one or more processors or processor cores. The function of the communication unit 603 can be implemented by an interface circuit or data transceiver circuit on the aforementioned chip.

[0451] It is understood that the division of units in the above-described device is merely a logical functional division. One function can correspond to one functional unit, or two or more functions can be integrated into one functional unit. In actual implementation, all or some units can be integrated onto a single physical entity, or distributed across different physical entities. Furthermore, the aforementioned functional units can be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of both. Whether a function is executed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for specific applications, but such implementations should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0452] In one example, the functional unit in any of the above devices may be one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above methods, such as: one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or one or more central processing units (CPUs), one or more microcontroller units (MCUs), one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), or one or more field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or a combination of at least two of these integrated circuit forms.

[0453] In one example, storage unit 601 may include random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory or electrically erasable programmable memory and / or registers, etc.

[0454] Figure 7 illustrates a possible exemplary block diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of this application. The communication device 700 shown in Figure 7 includes at least one processor 710. Optionally, the communication device 700 further includes an interface circuit 720. The processor 710 and the interface circuit 720 are coupled to each other. It is understood that the interface circuit 720 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, the communication device 700 also includes at least one memory 730, which stores instructions executed by the processor 710, input data required for the processor 710 to execute instructions, or data generated after the processor 710 executes instructions.

[0455] When the communication device 700 is used to implement the above method embodiment, the processor 710 is used to implement the function of the processing unit 602, and the interface circuit 720 is used to implement the function of the communication unit 603.

[0456] It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of this application can be a central processing unit (CPU), or other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. A general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0457] This application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program or instructions that, when executed, implement any of the above-described method embodiments.

[0458] This application provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program or instructions that, when executed, implement any of the above-described method embodiments.

[0459] This application provides a chip system for implementing any of the above-described method embodiments.

[0460] This application provides a communication system, including a terminal as shown in the embodiment of FIG2 and a first device as shown in FIG2.

[0461] This application provides a communication system including the PCF and SMF shown in the embodiment of FIG3. Optionally, the communication system may also include the terminal shown in the embodiment of FIG3.

[0462] This application provides a communication system including the SMF and EECF from the embodiment of FIG4. Optionally, the communication system may also include the PCF and / or terminal from the embodiment of FIG4.

[0463] This application provides a communication system including the CHF and PCF shown in the embodiment of FIG5. Optionally, the communication system may also include the terminal and / or SMF shown in the embodiment of FIG5.

[0464] The method steps in the embodiments of this application can be implemented in hardware or by a processor executing software instructions. The software instructions can consist of corresponding software modules, which can be stored in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, registers, hard disks, portable hard disks, compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor, enabling the processor to read information from and write information to the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium can also be a component of the processor. The processor and storage medium can reside in an ASIC. Furthermore, the ASIC can reside in a first network element or a store-and-forward ground function network element. Alternatively, the processor and storage medium can exist as discrete components in a first device or terminal.

[0465] In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved entirely or partially through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented entirely or partially in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. A computer program is a set of instructions that directs each step of an action of an electronic computer or other device with message processing capabilities. It is typically written in a programming language and runs on a target architecture. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are performed, in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer program or instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer program or instructions can be transferred from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, hard disk, or magnetic tape; it can also be an optical medium, such as a digital video optical disc; or it can be a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state drive. The computer-readable storage medium can be volatile or non-volatile, or it can include both types of storage media.

[0466] In the various embodiments of this application, unless otherwise specified or in case of logical conflict, the terminology and / or descriptions of different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features of different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship.

[0467] In this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "more than one" means two or more. "And / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A alone, A and B simultaneously, or B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In the textual description of this application, the character " / " generally indicates an "or" relationship between the preceding and following related objects; in the formulas of this application, the character " / " indicates a "division" relationship between the preceding and following related objects.

[0468] It is understood that the various numerical designations used in the embodiments of this application are merely for descriptive convenience and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. The order of the process numbers described above does not imply the order of execution; the execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic.

[0469] The terms "system" and "network" in this application embodiment are used interchangeably. "At least one" refers to one or more, and "multiple" refers to two or more. "And / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A alone, A and B simultaneously, or B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, "at least one of A, B, or C" includes A, B, C, AB, AC, BC, or ABC; "at least one of A, B, and C" can also be understood as including A, B, C, AB, AC, BC, or ABC. Furthermore, unless otherwise specified, the ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" mentioned in this application embodiment are used to distinguish multiple objects and are not used to limit the order, sequence, priority, or importance of multiple objects.

[0470] Those skilled in the art will understand that embodiments of this application can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, this application can take the form of a completely hardware embodiment, a completely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, this application can take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

[0471] This application is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to this application. It should be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in one or more blocks of the flowchart illustrations and / or one or more blocks of the block diagrams.

[0472] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable storage medium produce an article of manufacture including instruction means that implement the functions specified in one or more flowcharts and / or one or more block diagrams.

[0473] These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process, such that the instructions, which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus, provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more flowcharts and / or one or more block diagrams.

[0474] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to this application without departing from the scope of this application. Therefore, if such modifications and variations fall within the scope of the claims of this application and their equivalents, this application also intends to include such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, include: Determine whether energy-saving operations need to be performed on the terminal; When it is necessary to perform energy-saving operations on the terminal, a notification message is sent to the terminal, which instructs the network to perform energy-saving operations on the terminal.

2. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The notification information includes the terminal's identification information.

3. The method as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The notification information also includes first instruction information, which instructs the network to perform energy-saving operations on the terminal; or... The name of the notification message is used to indicate that the network needs to perform energy-saving operations on the terminal.

4. The method as described in claim 2 or 3, characterized in that, Also includes: The system receives feedback information from the terminal, which includes a second indication and / or a third indication. The second indication indicates that the terminal agrees to perform energy-saving operations on the terminal or disagrees with performing energy-saving operations on the terminal. The third indication indicates that the terminal has received the notification information.

5. The method as described in claim 4, characterized in that, Also includes: If the feedback information includes the second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate that the terminal agrees to perform energy-saving operations on the terminal, then the energy-saving operation is initiated; or, If the feedback information includes the third indication information, initiate energy-saving operation; or, If the feedback information includes the second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate that the terminal does not agree to perform energy-saving operations on the terminal, then the energy-saving operation will not be initiated.

6. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that, The determination of whether energy-saving operations need to be performed on the terminal includes: When the power consumption of the terminal exceeds the upper limit of the power consumption corresponding to the terminal, it is determined that an energy-saving operation needs to be performed on the terminal.

7. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The notification information includes the identifier information of the terminal's first session.

8. The method as described in claim 7, characterized in that, The notification information also includes a fourth instruction, which instructs the network to perform energy-saving operations for the first session; or... The name of the notification message is used to indicate that the network needs to perform energy-saving operations for the first session.

9. The method as described in claim 7 or 8, characterized in that, Also includes: The terminal receives feedback information, which includes a fifth indication and / or a sixth indication. The fifth indication indicates that the terminal agrees to perform energy-saving operations for the first session or disagrees with the energy-saving operations for the first session. The sixth indication indicates that the terminal has received the notification information.

10. The method as described in claim 9, characterized in that, Also includes: If the feedback information includes the fifth indication information, and the fifth indication information is used to instruct the terminal to agree to perform power-saving operations for the first session, then power-saving operation is initiated; or, If the feedback information includes the sixth indication information, initiate energy-saving operation; or, If the feedback information includes the fifth indication information, and the fifth indication information is used to indicate that the terminal does not agree to perform energy-saving operation for the first session, then the energy-saving operation will not be initiated.

11. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 10, characterized in that, The determination of whether energy-saving operations need to be performed on the terminal includes: When the power consumption of the first session exceeds the power consumption limit value corresponding to the first session, it is determined that energy-saving operation needs to be performed for the first session.

12. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The notification information includes the identification information of the terminal's first quality of service flow.

13. The method as described in claim 12, characterized in that, The first quality of service flow belongs to the first session of the terminal, and the notification information also includes the identification information of the first session.

14. The method as described in claim 12 or 13, characterized in that, The notification information also includes a seventh instruction, which instructs the network to perform energy-saving operations on the first quality of service flow; or... The name of the notification message is used to indicate that the network needs to perform energy-saving operations for the first quality of service flow.

15. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 14, characterized in that, Also includes: The terminal receives feedback information, which includes an eighth indication and / or a ninth indication. The eighth indication indicates that the terminal agrees to perform energy-saving operations on the first quality of service flow or disagrees with the energy-saving operations on the first quality of service flow. The ninth indication indicates that the terminal has received the notification information.

16. The method as described in claim 15, characterized in that, Also includes: If the feedback information includes the eighth indication information, and the eighth indication information is used to instruct the terminal to agree to perform energy-saving operations on the first quality of service flow, then the energy-saving operation is initiated; or, If the feedback information includes the ninth indication information, initiate energy-saving operation; or, If the feedback information includes the eighth indication information, and the eighth indication information is used to indicate that the terminal does not agree to perform energy-saving operations for the first quality of service flow, then the energy-saving operation will not be initiated.

17. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 16, characterized in that, The determination of whether energy-saving operations need to be performed on the terminal includes: When the power consumption of the first quality of service flow exceeds the upper limit of the power consumption corresponding to the first quality of service flow, it is determined that an energy-saving operation needs to be performed on the first quality of service flow.

18. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 17, characterized in that, Before sending the notification information to the terminal, the method further includes: Obtain the capability information of the terminal, which is used to indicate that the terminal supports adjusting energy-saving parameters and / or supports energy-saving feedback; Sending notification information to the terminal includes: Based on the capability information, the notification information is sent to the terminal.

19. A communication method, characterized in that, include: Receive notification information, which instructs the network to perform energy-saving operations on the terminal; Initiate energy-saving operation based on the notification information.

20. The method as described in claim 19, characterized in that, The notification information includes the terminal's identification information.

21. The method as described in claim 20, characterized in that, The notification information also includes first instruction information, which instructs the network to perform energy-saving operations on the terminal; or... The name of the notification message is used to indicate that the network needs to perform energy-saving operations on the terminal.

22. The method as described in claim 19, characterized in that, The notification information includes the identifier information of the terminal's first session.

23. The method as described in claim 22, characterized in that, The notification information also includes a fourth instruction, which instructs the network to perform energy-saving operations for the first session; or... The name of the notification message is used to indicate that the network needs to perform energy-saving operations for the first session.

24. The method as described in claim 19, characterized in that, The notification information includes the identification information of the terminal's first quality of service flow.

25. The method as described in claim 24, characterized in that, The first quality of service flow belongs to the first session of the terminal, and the notification information also includes the identification information of the first session.

26. The method as described in claim 24 or 25, characterized in that, The notification information also includes a seventh instruction, which instructs the network to perform energy-saving operations on the first quality of service flow; or... The name of the notification message is used to indicate that the network needs to perform energy-saving operations for the first quality of service flow.

27. A communication method, characterized in that, include: Receive notification information, which instructs the network to perform energy-saving operations on the terminal; Send feedback information, which is used to indicate whether the terminal agrees to the energy-saving operation and / or to indicate that the terminal has received the notification information.

28. The method as described in claim 27, characterized in that, The notification information includes the terminal's identification information.

29. The method as described in claim 28, characterized in that, The notification information also includes first instruction information, which instructs the network to perform energy-saving operations on the terminal; or... The name of the notification message is used to indicate that the network needs to perform energy-saving operations on the terminal.

30. The method as described in claim 28 or 29, characterized in that, When the feedback information is used to indicate whether the terminal agrees to the energy-saving operation, the feedback information includes second indication information, which is used to indicate whether the terminal agrees to the energy-saving operation or to indicate whether the terminal disagrees with the energy-saving operation.

31. The method as described in claim 27, characterized in that, The notification information includes the identifier information of the terminal's first session.

32. The method as described in claim 31, characterized in that, The notification information also includes a fourth instruction, which is used to instruct the network to perform energy-saving operations for the first session; or, the name of the notification information is used to instruct the network to perform energy-saving operations for the first session.

33. The method as described in claim 31 or 32, characterized in that, When the feedback information is used to indicate whether the terminal agrees to the energy-saving operation, the feedback information includes a fifth indication information, which is used to indicate whether the terminal agrees to the energy-saving operation for the first session or to indicate whether the terminal disagrees with the energy-saving operation for the first session.

34. The method as described in claim 27, characterized in that, The notification information includes the identification information of the terminal's first quality of service flow.

35. The method as described in claim 34, characterized in that, The first quality of service flow belongs to the first session of the terminal, and the notification information also includes the identification information of the first session.

36. The method as described in claim 34 or 35, characterized in that, The notification information also includes a seventh instruction, which is used to instruct the network to perform energy-saving operations on the first quality of service flow; or, the name of the notification information is used to instruct the network to perform energy-saving operations on the first quality of service flow.

37. The method according to any one of claims 34 to 36, characterized in that, When the feedback information is used to indicate whether the terminal agrees to the energy-saving operation, the feedback information includes an eighth indication information, which is used to indicate whether the terminal agrees to the energy-saving operation for the first quality of service flow or to indicate whether the terminal disagrees with the energy-saving operation for the first quality of service flow.

38. The method according to any one of claims 27 to 37, characterized in that, The method further includes: Initiate energy-saving operation based on the notification information.

39. The method according to any one of claims 27 to 38, characterized in that, The method further includes: Before receiving the notification information, the terminal's capability information is sent, which is used to instruct the terminal to support adjusting energy-saving parameters and / or support energy-saving feedback.

40. A communication device, characterized in that, Includes modules for performing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 18.

41. A communication device, characterized in that, Includes modules for performing the method of any one of claims 19 to 26, or for performing the method of any one of claims 27 to 39.

42. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes a computer program or instructions that, when executed, implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 18, or the method of any one of claims 19 to 26, or the method of any one of claims 27 to 39.

43. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The storage medium stores a computer program or instructions that, when executed, implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 18, or the method of any one of claims 19 to 26, or the method of any one of claims 27 to 39.

44. A communication system, characterized in that, It includes a first device for performing the method of any one of claims 1 to 18, and a terminal for performing the method of any one of claims 19 to 26.

45. A communication system, characterized in that, It includes a first device for performing the method of any one of claims 1 to 18, and a terminal for performing the method of any one of claims 27 to 39.

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